Drumroll, please!
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Meet our newest, furriest “coworker” at Rockfish Wildlife Sanctuary.
This charming female opossum has found her home with us as an education ambassador, but she still needs a name. 🤔
Keep reading to learn about her story, personality, and all the details of her naming contest! ⬇️
We admitted this opossum as a patient back in October for an all-too-common reason: she had been kept illegally as a pet. Her finder had accidentally hit an opossum in downtown Lynchburg, Virginia last April while driving one evening. When he inspected the body, he saw she had been carrying nine joeys (baby opossums) in her pouch. Though we know he was trying to do the right thing, he made the unfortunate decision to bring the joeys home and raise them himself. 😞
Seven of the nine joeys died as he tried to raise them without a rehabilitator’s license, and he kept the remaining two in his home as they grew. The two opossums lived alongside his dogs at first before being moved to a bathroom. They were frequently held and hand-fed cat food and many human foods…including mini powdered donuts! In fact, he brought a bag of powdered donuts upon surrendering them to the Sanctuary, saying that the treats were “their favorites.” 😅🍩
At one point, the finder had left on vacation for a week and had a friend drop in to feed them. During that time, stressful confinement led one of the opossums to eat the toes of the other opossum (our new ambassador). This may sound crazy, but it’s actually common for these solitary animals to resort to cannibalism due to stress, overcrowding, or generally poor husbandry. As a result, our new ambassador has a permanent peace sign on both of her front feet. ✌️
After six months, their finder called the Sanctuary and said he had two opossums he wanted to bring by so they could go back to the wild. We were sad yet not surprised when the two juvenile opossums arrived in very poor condition. 🙁
Regardless of missing fingers, each opossum had developed metabolic bone disease. When a young animal does not receive appropriate nutrition, vitamin and mineral deficiencies can lead to weak, deformed bones. Opossums are especially prone to MBD if raised inappropriately in captivity, so it is vital that an orphaned joey gets to a licensed rehabber right away! Sadly, one of the two opossums had to be humanely euthanized due to the severity of her condition. It would not have been possible for her to live a life without pain. 💔
We are not sharing all of this information to shame their finder. He believed he was helping these babies and did not understand the complex nature of caring for wildlife compared to domesticated animals like dogs or cats. Sadly, though, this happens too frequently. We hope that this new education ambassador’s story helps remind folks across our community that wild animals deserve professional care.
Luckily, the second opossum got a happier ending! She did not have nearly as advanced metabolic bone disease upon admission to the Sanctuary and was an excellent fit for our education ambassador program. This little lady will be able to live a happy, comfortable life in our loving care at RWS. 💖
Her personality is perfectly suited to our team! So far, she has shown herself to be extremely relaxed, food-motivated, and curious about the world. While she thankfully no longer eats powdered donuts, she has kept that sweet tooth. 🍓 She particularly loves strawberries and applesauce, though we offer those sparingly to ensure she stays at a healthy weight for her small stature. We’re so excited to begin incorporating her into our educational programs this spring. But first…
This lovely gal needs a name, and you might just be the one to pick it!
Submit a name for our new colleague and support her care at the same time! If you’d like to suggest a name, please make a donation at the link below and leave your name submission(s) in the comment box. One dollar is one vote, and we’ll rely on votes to help us pick the top few finalists that staff and volunteers will choose from.
Share our contest with your friends, rally around a name you all adore, and help support a lifetime of love for our new ambassador opossum! ❤️
P.S. For those of you worried that something has happened to Leonard or Barney, don’t worry – they’re both doing just fine. 😊 We are thrilled to now have three wonderful education ambassador opossums at RWS!
