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This story is from our volunteer Geri Rooks, in
Ponte Vedra Beach.
St. Johns Wildlife received a call from a lady in Ponte Vedra, saying
that there was an opossum laying on the side of the road and there were
babies crawling all over her, she said that she could not tell if the
mother was dead or alive.
Geri Rooks had just started volunteering for St. Johns Wildlife Care a short time before this and she lived in Ponte Vedra, so Karen Inman called and asked if she would go and check it out. Geri did not hesitate. When
she arrived she was amazed to see that the mother, who had been hit by a
car, was still very much alive, severely concussed, but alive.
Geri gathered the mother and babies up and rushed them back to her house. She then called Karen back to let her know what she had found. Geri asked if she could care for the injured mother and babies, so with
instructions from Karen, Geri started to care for them.
Geri found that she had nine healthy babies in her pouch and that the mother was severely concussed and disoriented, other than a severe bloody
nose and few scraps, there was no visible injuries or permanent damage to the mother.
Geri had to hand feed the mother for about a week, until she got her
senses back together, after about a week she was up and moving around and eating on her own.
Geri decided to name her Penny Opossum. Penny has been at Geri's home for about six weeks now and she is
completely healed, her babies are now coming out of the pouch and eating
on their own.
Penny and all nine of her babies have done very well and all of them
were released back to the wild.
See Penny Opossum's arrival
and release photos. |
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