Today I came home from work in a hurry to get to the Art Unleashed committee meeting. I let the dogs out & was prepared to throw the tennis ball for Aki, but she seemed to want to show me something. She looked at me, ran into the yard, turned & looked at me, ran a little further, looked at me... Ok, Lassie—I get it. What's up? She led me to a shady spot behind the spirea bushes, against the fence. As I approached I saw the body of our possum. I hoped that she was only playing possum, but she had in fact passed on. I kept the dogs away & went to get a shovel & a trash bag (and my camera—it's not often I get to see wildlife this close, so I took it as a learning opportunity). Poor little possum. I wonder what happened? I would feel horrible if the dogs had killed her, but she didn't have any obvious wounds, so it was impossible to tell. Possums get a bad rap. People say they're ugly & mean. I think they're remarkable, and the "meanness" is just an attempt to scare potential predators. They're well-designed for a nocturnal life, with beady eyes, sensitive whiskers & large ears. Their dextrous toes, claws and sturdy prehensile tail help them navigate trees (and suburban backyard fences).
Much to my shock, as I lifted the body with my shovel, I saw something moving on its abdomen. It was a newborn baby possum who had fallen partially out of the pouch. It was weak but clearly alive. I reached down gently to see if I could remove it, but it was firmly attached inside the pouch. I peeked inside to find at least three more wriggling babies! The ones inside were especially lively.
Melancholy, I headed off to my meeting & shared the story with the HSGKC crowd, who were more sympathetic than a normal audience would have been. After the meeting, I met a friend for dinner at 75th Street Brewery and ordered a Possum Trot Brown Ale... but they were out. Bummer. Would have been a nice tribute to my little friend.
My only other up-close experience with a possum was when I was about twelve years old. I was playing in the backyard down by the creek, and found a live possum stuck in the mud. A large tree limb had fallen on him during a storm, and had crushed his back legs. He was hissing like crazy with his mouth gaping open—it was definitely intimidating! I removed the limb and ran to the house to tell Mom & find out what to do. I don't actually remember what happened, but I distinctly remember having the same helpless feeling that I had today when I discovered the babies. Life can be rough sometimes, especially for animals in the wild. All I can do is be kind when I encounter them, and encourage others to do the same.
On a happier note, enjoy these videos of Hoppy the deer!
What a sad but sweet story. I hope the babies make it. Will you be able to follow up on them?
ReplyDeleteAlso, 75th Street is ALWAYS out of Possum Trot. I try to order it every time I go there, and they always say they are out. I did have it once several years ago, or I'd think it didn't really exist. :)
I would never touch a dead possum, I'm too sensitive. Plus I might barf.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Persimmon's babies. Also, I've always loved/feared possums. They used to hang out outside our home in Florida. We had outdoor cats with outdoor food bowls. Go figure, our possums liked meow mix. They also liked hissing at me when I would disturb their late-night feedings. Scary but fascinating.
ReplyDeleteI'm sad to say that my old dachshund killed a possum last month and I've been sad about it ever since. I thought maybe it was "playing possum" and set it in the front yard. It was not in the spot I left it when I came back 30 minutes later, but I discovered it had moved about 3 feet under a bush and died. I wish I had thought to check for babies. Especially sad, because we had spent about $1,000 getting our dachshund well recently only to have him kill an innocent creature. It can be a cruel world, sometimes.
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