24
2010
What to do with a Baby Opossum
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This morning, our neighbor Jan was looking quizzically between her garage and compost bin. We stepped out to hear her terrier Molly squeaking.
The source of the tension? A baby opossum was hiding out behind the compost bin.
Fortunately, Alex’s Extermination Service came to the rescue. He used a stick and a few yells to chase the babe out from behind the bin. Then, he grabbed the possum by the tail near its body. Their partially prehensile tails do not allow opossums to attack when held at the base of their tail.
Lil and Devie were very interested. We told Lil some of the interesting factoids about opossums, the mammal evolution seems to have left behind. For instance, did you know that opossums are marsupials, meaning their young complete gestation in a marsupium pouch on the mother? They have a strong immune system rendering them resistant to rattlesnake, cottonmouth, and pit viper venom.
We debated how cute the little possum was. Lil wants no one to say they are ugly.
We also debated what to do with her. We didn’t want her around our house, as possums root through trash, eat vegetables from the garden, and can be dangerous as adults. It’s not easy to kill a pest in city limits, and Lil was attached anyways, so offing it wasn’t an option.
We decided to pack her in a plastic tote and drove to a ravine a mile away. We let it go, hoping she’ll be young enough not to return.
About the Author: Rachel Tayse
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Hi! I am Rachel Tayse Baillieul, a home-cooking, backyard-gardening, unschooling, earthy homemaker in Columbus Ohio. Hounds in the Kitchen is where I share my family's adventures. Thanks for joining us!
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Wow! I can’t believe you had an opossum. We get moles, but we rarely see them. The dog finds their droppings, though. Blech.
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unfortunately your solution will end in a slow death for it. If left alone the mother would have found it and moved on. Opossum are interesting creatures, I’ve raised one myself. Next time call the Ohio Wildlife Center for advice on getting rid of unwanted creatures. Thanks!
Hi Kris, I did consider whether it could take care of itself. As it did have teeth in and was already alone I assumed it was mature enough to live on its own. Good thought to call OWC in the future.
Normally, wildlife rehab people will not take them once they have teeth. In Texas, it is illegal to take a live nongame animal from your property and place it on someone else’s property without their written permission. We country folk got tired of raccoons, opossums, skunks, and various other critters being “set free” on our land to cause us trouble, transmit diseases, and fight over territory. Unfortunately, if you cannot live with the animal it is best to let the exterminator humanely kill it. As Kris says, to do otherwise is to sentence the animal to a slow and painful death rather than a quick, painless one.
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To address some of the concerns raised:
1. The possum may have been a juvenile but it was as big as many I have seen surviving on their own. It was certainly large enough to fend for itself in an urban environment and we did not consign it to a slow death.
2. It was not released on someone else’s private party, but was let go in one of our city parks. Columbus has several forested glacial ravines in the middle of the city that have been turned into wonderful urban parks. Our city parks are teeming with wildlife ranging from possums to warblers to owls and even more recently coyotes.
Will the possum get into someone else’s backyard? Probably. There is no preventing it in an urban setting such as we live in. There is no avoiding possums and raccoons in your backyard/trash. It comes with the territory living in a densely settled area with alleys, sewers, green-spaces and other habitats for adaptable critters.
Finally, I’m certainly not above killing animals if it is necessary. I’ve waged a three year war against grey squirrels in order to protect our backyard gardens. We slaughtered a pig earlier this year. There will likely be deer ending up in our freezer this fall. In this case killing a juvenile possum in my backyard that my daughter thought was cute would have been pointless and somewhat cruel.
Overall it was an enjoyable experience this morning and a reminder that despite our presence, nature manages to thrive side-by-side with us in many forms.