The fawn, and another that came in a few days later, have been successfully integrated into the rehab herd and are doing well. They are so neat especially when they are that young. They trust you unconditionally....which unfortunately is a bad thing sometimes.
And these opossums loved attention. They were handled so much because they were so sick when they came here that they really didn't mind contact. I hope they stay near their release point. It's a great location with animal loving people that is far from a road. And while she doesn't interfere with the wildlife, the lady that lives there does make it a bit easier for them to find food. Opossums have a bad rap. They are actually very helpful animals as they clean up the messes. People think they are dumb because they get hit by cars so often. Actually, they don't have really good eyesight so they probably don't see the car coming. They have changed little in their time on earth.....and that dates to the time of the dinosaurs.....they are living history. They also have an unusually high resistance to infections. Cat bites that would kill most other animals in a few days don't usually do that with opossums. Their body temperatures are much lower than most other mammals. And they don't usually contract rabies even when in direct contact with a rabid animal. We do "pouch dives". When you see a fat female dead in the road....many times the babies in her pouch are still alive. The milk spoils quickly and the babies can suffer severe brain and/or liver damage if they continue to nurse spoiled milk. We stop and pull the babies from the pouch. Hopefully we can do something to save them....but in some cases all we can do is make the ultimate expression of our love for them and humanely euthanize them to prevent undue suffering. But these guys are wonderful animals. I have one on loan to an educational facility that was a pouch dive that suffered brain damage. She is terribly cross eyed and can't be released. But she will sit in your lap....and I have fed her directly from my hand. She is a great teacher. She has a purpose and is living a charmed life.
Randy
.
