Young, inquisitive opossums

This video was taken at Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Willowbrook rehabilitates injured and orphaned wildlife and then releases them back to the wild. It also has an extensive educational program that reaches out to the community in general and engages many schools.

Willowbrook has a varied and excellent exhibit of educational wildlife species that are native to the area.

It has a viewing window into the nursery where the very young mammals are monitored closely and fed and cared for throughout the day.

These young, orphaned opossums are exploring their new, temporary surroundings.

When the baby opossums become bigger and able to forage and fend for themselves, they will be returned to the wild. The sound you hear in the background is from the cage behind me. It houses 4 blue jays and 1 robin. The blue jays are very vocal and demand attention on a regular basis. The 2 human voices in the background are of staff members manning the front desk. Spring and early summer are extremely busy at the center, as orphaned wildlife babies are brought in on an hourly basis. The center takes on much needed extra help for these hectic months. It is staffed and run by caring and expert individuals.

For more info please go to www.willowbrookwildlife.org

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• opossums
• wildlife
• marsupial
• cute
• adorable
• silly
• funny
• furry
• rehabilitation

[monalisamagic]

who's making those strange sounds? the opossums?? if so, they sure are noisy little critters!

[willowbrookwildlife]

Go to the "About This Video", click on it and you can read about who's making the sounds and more.... Thanks.

[jujubee75]

Why are the opossums in aquariums instead of cages? How are they to learn how to climb without branches?

[willowbrookwildlife]

Great question! The very young opossums are kept in aquariums when this small for a 2 reasons. 1) our regular caging has bars too far apart and they could easily escape. 2) we put a heating pad beneath a towel so that the small animal may find warmth if needed. (to be continued)

[willowbrookwildlife]

(part 2) When they become a few weeks older and larger, they are moved to outdoor caging, where there are branches and other items for them to climb, crawl into, chew on and explore. They also will become acclimated to the weather and given a thorough exam by our resident veterinarian before being released back to the wild.

[VideoEnthusiast1]

I thinks opossums are fascinating creatures that people don't tend to pay too much attention too. in the right hands they can be a perfect pet, but we must be careful about approaching them since they are wild animals. Its good that this fine organization cares for these creatures whe they need it.

[mikestonetkd]

Well... yaa..

We had a possum for many years that we found freezing outside and rescued.  She was part of the family and lived indoors with us like a pet dog or cat. She was a wonderful pet and never bit or was never agressive. She was wonderful until the day she died a natural death at a ripe old age.

Possums might be the exception to the rule about keeping wild animals as pets because they make wonderful pets.

[AbqHalsey]

Caps lock is cruise control for cool.

[ROCKDOG5732]

MY WIFE AND I RAISED 4 BABY POSSUMS AFTER WE FOUND THAT THIER MOTHER WAS RAN OVER INFRONT OF OUR HOUSE. A DAY AFTER I FOUND THE BABIES HANGING AROUND OUR HOUSE. THEY SEEMED TO BE ABLE TO FEND FOR THEM SELFS. ALL WE DID WAS FEED AND WATER THEM. AND YES THEY ARE STILL LIVING IN OUR YARD. IM A BIG FAN OF ROCK AND ROLL SO I NAMED THEM AFTER THE BEATLES STAR McCARTNEY LENNON AND HARRISON. I WILL POST PICTURES SOON AS I FIGURE OUT HOW TO POST THEM ON YOUTUBE.

[culex3]

I like opossums too but they are wild animals and are NOT pets. In the right hands (a licensed wildlife rehabilitator), they would be properly cared for and released back into the wild. They have dietary and environmental needs that untrained individuals simply can not meet. I'm not trying to be preachy but I've worked with wildlife rehabers and seen the results of wildlife treated as pets and it isn't nice. If you find young animals, contact your local rehab center and take their advice.