This owl and five other animals became the last patients of the 2009 year.  The Crosby owl was joined by an injured opossum, a pelican, two red-tailed hawks and a screech owl.  All were examined, treated and medications administered.  They as with the owl were tucked into warm cages as they ushered in the new year with a new chance at life.  

Each year the Wildlife Center takes in over 7000 injured ill or orphaned wildlife.  WR&E staff and volunteers are always curious which species will be the first of the new year. 

The first animal for the 2010 new year was a gorgeous adult red tailed hawk.  He was found in a yard on High Island, with an injured wing.  After a ride on the ferry to Galveston and a car trip up I-45 he arrived at the Wildlife Center.  A through exam revealed a sprained wing that probably occurred when it hit a power line or moving vehicle.  The first few days of the new year proved to be very busy at the Wildlife Center as it also received an injured squirrel, a common egret, a vulture, a pelican, another red tailed hawk, a cormorant, and several doves.

On November 21, 2009 the first call came in about a Great Horned Owl who had been found on the road.  A man and his two children brought the badly hypothermic owl to the WR&E Wildlife Center for care.  The magnificent Great Horned Owl was cold, wet and scared. WR&E staff gavage fed warm fluids and pain medication. Intubation continued on an hourly basis. The Great Horned Owl began to stabilize. 

Several hours later a call came from a gentleman who had found a hawk on the road.  With guidance from the Wildlife Center he took a towel and scooped the hawk up and gently laid him in the back of his car and drove it to the Wildlife Center.  The hawk turned out to be a gorgeous adult Red Tailed Hawk. It was also badly hypothermic, so WR&E staff administered warm fluids and pain medication. A heat lamp was placed over the bird to speed the warming process. Intubation continued on an hourly basis.

Not more than thirty minutes later the third cold wet patient was driven to the Wildlife Center.  An adult female Virginia opossum was found injured.  An exam revealed deep gashes in her neck. She was also hypothermic and in shock.  This animal was warmed and stabilized. Then her wounds were treated. 

By the end of the day all three animals were dry, warm and taking food.  Should they survive, they will still have several weeks of rehabilitation before they are released back into the wild.

These injured patients would never have had this extra chance at life if not for the kind humans that thought about the importance of saving these creatures.  Our hats are off to the citizens that took the time to bring these animals to the Wildlife Center for care, to the volunteers that provided expert care on an hourly basis and the donors who provide the funds for the facility and supplies! You are wildlife heroes, one and all.

Anyone who has moved a wheelbarrow and found a hissing and spitting opossum underneath understands the jolt of adrenaline such an encounter produces. When faced with such an aggressive display, it is hard to remember that the opossum is more frightened that you. Think that opossums are disgustingly ugly? Tempted to chase them out of your flowerbeds? Don’t – they are voracious insect and grub eaters.

OK – so it’s ugly. But don’t let its lack of good looks fool you, it is the single most important animal you can have in your yard. Nicknamed the living fossil by scientists, the opossum dates back to the days of the dinosaur. The name “opossum” is derived from an Algonquian Indian word “apasum”, meaning white animal. The opossum’s face is usually white while the body coloration can range from almost white, through various shades of gray to black. Most of the guard hair is agouti (banded) which means that the hair starts growing one color then change color one or more times before it sheds.  

The only marsupial (mammal with a pouch) living in North America, the opossum is a unique and fascinating animal. The scientific name, Didelphis virginiana means “double womb” which refers to the pouch as the secondary place of fetal development. Virginiana refers to the state of Virginia where the opossum was first observed by early English colonists.

Opossums are born after a gestation period of only thirteen days. Blind, embryonic in appearance, and about the size of a bee, the newborn opossum crawls unaided to its mother’s pouch, where it attaches to a nipple. The nipple completely fills the tiny opossum’s mouth, firmly attaching it to its mother. The opossum then remains in the mother’s pouch for another seven weeks, until it is large enough to detach itself from the nipple. Mother opossums carry their babies on their backs, each night, when they prowl for food. The babies strike out on their own fairly early, a opossum that is nine inches from nose to the base of the tail is considered old enough to on its own.

In captivity, opossums can live five to seven years but in the wild the lifespan is much shorter. A successful adult can live three years in the wild, but a lifespan of a year to eighteen months is much more common. The opossum is a frequent prey animal and suffers additional pressure from humans, dogs, cats and cars.

Opossums are non-aggressive creatures despite a ferocious display of teeth when threatened. Unfortunately, people often mistake the hiss/growl and open mouth as aggressive and mistakenly worry that the opossum will injure their pets or children. The opossum has more teeth than any other native animal and while the display of fifty tiny sharp pointed teeth can be intimidating, opossums almost always lose in a fight.

Generally, if given a chance they will flee from danger. However, in extreme circumstances, they will “play ‘possum” This is not a voluntary decision for the opossum, it goes into a state of shock which causes their bodies to become stiff and their breathing to slow down. The musk glands are released and drool will trickle from their mouths. In many cases, a predator will give up its attack, on the assumption that the opossum looks and smells dead. The state can last for an hour or more.

The opossum is not nasty or dirty, even though it sometimes looks “flea bitten”. Quite the opposite, like cats, they are fastidious and constantly groom themselves. However, despite its best efforts, it always looks like it needs a shampoo and blow-dry.

Because of their appearance, many people think it must be carrying a host of diseases, but the fact is the opossum is resistant to most diseases.  The body temperature of a opossum is lower than other mammals, therefore, many diseases can’t multiply fast enough to overwhelm the opossum’s excellent immune system. Therefore it carries almost no diseases and even if it succumbs to a disease, it usually can not transmit the disease. They are considered a dead-end rabies host, in other words, you can’t get rabies from an opossum.

Another myth of the opossum is the iconic picture of it hanging from a tree by its tail – only the very young can pull this stunt. They usually wind up in this predicament because of a miscalculation – not on purpose. The prehensile tail is used to carry nesting material, food, and stabilizes the opossum for climbing. Despite their clumsy appearance and weird slow motion walk, the opossum is an excellent climber. Special raised pads on the paws and fully opposable “thumbs” on the rear feet make the opossum agile climbers.

Opossums are sometimes referred to as the sanitation engineers of the forest. The creator gave them the job (which they take very seriously) of cleaning up anything remotely edible. I don’t know if they hate us or love us for being so messy. We leave containers near our houses (better known as trash cans) that are full of wonderfully smelly things to eat, we leave food outside for our animals that hasn’t been eaten, we feed the birds who wastefully leave seed on the ground and we don’t clean up the windfall from our fruit trees, nut trees or berry producing bushes.

They are an omnivore leaning towards carnivore and will eat almost anything. They are the only mammal that routinely dines on poisonous snakes. Because of their slower metabolism, they are not as susceptible to the venom. They also eat beetles, ants, grasshoppers, grubs, earthworms, lizards, geckos, frogs and fresh carrion. 

The animal responsible for turning over trashcans, dragging them half-way across the yard and prying open the lid is the raccoon, not the innocent opossum you see munching away in it the next morning.  I’m not suggesting opossums are blameless for they are not above crawling into trashcans (from which they can’t escape) and accidentally turning them over. Don’t be alarmed if you find a opossum in your trashcan, simply tip the can on its side and leave for 10 – 15 minutes. When you return, your visitor will be long gone.

 As for the raccoon, they are almost as hard to out fox as squirrels (better known as bird feeder bandits), however, the trash can is relatively easy. A strong bungee cord stretched from one handle, through the handle on the trash can lid to the opposite handle will deter most raccoons (and dogs). If there is a problem with trash cans being turned over, loop a rope around the can passing it through at least one handle and tie it to the fence or other large object.

The opossum, while not the most beautiful of animals is extremely beneficial to the environment. Should an animal become a nuisance, WR&E can provide techniques to exclude the animal from the area in question, they should not be live trapped or harassed. Despite WR&E’s efforts to educate the public, disinformation abounds. For example, “Desperate Housewives” recently used the life and death of a opossum to symbolize Lynette’s fight and triumph over cancer. Unfortunately, the only truth in the show was that opossums live in neighborhoods. No wonder they get such a bad rap.

Until the general public accepts opossums as the wonderful animals they are, WR&E needs your help. We receive dozens of live trapped opossums a week from animal control departments and are running out of suitable release sites. The animals often come in dehydrated and malnourished because they have been left for days in the live trap without food or water. WR&E returns the animals to health before release. Please contact WR&E if you own rural property and are willing to release these rehabilitated opossums.