Woman takes in blind opossum who had no one else
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00:00 He's always there for me.
00:01 I just appreciate having him in my life so much.
00:04 I'm Claire and this is Blackwell's story for GeoBeats.
00:07 I run Wild by Nurture.
00:09 We rescue, rehabilitate, and release
00:11 several hundred wildlife every year
00:13 and specialize in opossums.
00:15 Be free to come.
00:16 I have 75 baby opossums right now.
00:19 I have some right here.
00:21 I don't know if you can see.
00:22 Blackwell was rescued in October of 2021.
00:28 He was in a park in New York City
00:30 doing his own opossum thing and a dog had found him.
00:34 A person was walking, saw him laying there,
00:40 scooped him up, and brought him to Wild Bird Fund,
00:43 which is New York City's wildlife rehabilitation center.
00:46 He spent a few weeks there.
00:48 They had him transported to Ithaca
00:50 and he is just the most incredible boy.
00:55 From the second I met him, he's just very snuggly,
00:58 very sweet.
00:59 He had a four-hour drive here.
01:00 When I opened up his carrier,
01:02 I put my hand in front of his nose
01:04 and he immediately sniffed and then started licking me.
01:07 One of the things that made him no longer releasable
01:10 is that he lost all of his natural wild instincts
01:14 from this head trauma.
01:15 Something changed in his brain.
01:18 He's just the most gentle, easygoing boy.
01:20 He lives with dogs now and is not phased by them at all.
01:24 Hey, buddy.
01:25 He needed a lot of extra care for a while
01:26 to make sure he was eating enough
01:28 and to give him a safe space where he could recover.
01:31 When he first arrived,
01:36 we had to make sure nothing was in his way.
01:38 Now he has really learned the layout of our home.
01:41 Their whiskers are amazing.
01:42 He never bumps into anything.
01:44 He became best friends with them.
01:49 They would snuggle and they'd always eat together.
01:52 He's got a few adorable friends enjoying their meal.
01:55 Living with an opossum is sort of like living with cats,
02:02 except cats are probably a little more active.
02:05 Opossums are very mellow animals and very non-destructive.
02:09 Handsome boy.
02:10 He's just really the most easygoing boy ever.
02:14 He loves being pet.
02:15 People really love his personality.
02:17 He's got this beautiful black coat,
02:19 an incredibly soft coat,
02:21 and he's got multicolored ears.
02:23 They don't have a strong smell.
02:24 They do have a little bit of a musk
02:26 that I think smells a little like sesame oil.
02:30 When the weather's nice,
02:31 I try to take him out for at least a half an hour every day,
02:35 if not longer.
02:36 He just really enjoys his outside time.
02:38 He lets me carry him around like a baby,
02:40 and he seems very happy to be carried around.
02:43 He often will sleep with me at night.
02:45 He tends to wake up around four or five every day,
02:48 and so I try to make sure I'm available at that time
02:51 to bring him his food.
02:52 And if I'm a little late,
02:53 he's circling in that area waiting for me.
02:55 As soon as he sniffs me,
02:57 that's how he knows I'm there.
02:58 He just like always gives me a lick,
03:00 which is very sweet.
03:02 I've had him for about two years now.
03:04 He's almost three,
03:05 which is very old for a male opossum.
03:08 The average lifespan of a male opossum
03:11 is about two to two and a half years.
03:13 (gentle music)
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03:19 (gentle music)
03:21 (upbeat music)