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Woman Raises Orphaned Opossum, And Now It Refuses To Be Released Back Into The Wild
When Sheri Kassalias agreed to nurse an orphaned opossum named Opie back to health until he is self-sufficient enough to be raised in the wild, the woman had no idea she would end up keeping the animal. “Opie was so sweet he demanded to be held. He climbed up my sleeve,” Kassalias, who works as an opossum and dog rescuer, told The Dodo. The opossum even began licking and grooming the woman, demonstrating a cat-like affectionate behaviour known as ‘slubbing’. While she released two other opossums she was fostering at the time, the woman knew what to do when it came to Opie…
Kassalias would have had to completely cut off all contact with Opie to make sure he is still releasable, but she chose to commit to keeping the animal forever.
Today Opie is a family member, sharing his owner’s South Carolina home with her husband, her two dogs, a 25-year-old tortoise named Bubba and a foster canine. Besides, Opie is registered with the USDA so that he can help his human mom educate kids about the the brilliant animals that opossums are. “He is an amazing ambassador,” says Kassalias.
More info: Facebook (h/t: thedodo)
RELATED:
Meet Opie, the orphaned opossum who found a loving forever home with humans
Sheri Kassalias planned to nurse Opie back to health until he is ready be raised in the wild
“Opie was so sweet he demanded to be held. He climbed up my sleeve”
The opossum even began licking and grooming the woman like a cat would
Rescuer would have had to completely cut off all contact with Opie to make sure he is releasable
But she chose to commit to keeping the animal forever. “So here we are almost two years later”
Today Opie is a family member, sharing his owner’s home with her husband and other pets
Opie helps his human mom educate kids about opossums
“He is an amazing ambassador”
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What do you think ?
Cheryl Fontaine 8 years ago
Hooray! I am so happy she is using Opie to teach people about possums. They are utterly harmless, carry no diseases, and eat slug and grubs
Conor Gilmartin 8 years ago
Diseases carried by possums include; tularemia, salmonella, toxoplasmosis, and coccidiosis. Infected animals may transmit leptospirosis to humans and other animals through their urine and faeces. Rabies is rare in opossums since they have some immunity to the virus. Pets, horses and other wildlife are also at risk for disease infection associated with opossums.
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Phillipe Knippel 8 years ago
I am a biologist here inRio, and I raised a lot of babies oposum, and yeah, you need to be careful or they end like a dog.
John L 8 years ago
As we learn more about wild critters, through places like the internet, the more we learn that there are a percentage of them that are predisposed to be tame around humans. And it is possible to take a small percentage of them and actually breed them as tame little children.
Cathy Shift 8 years ago
no good deed goes... nope i'm still going to have to go with rewarded.
Lori Vattes 4 weeks ago
Since living in Florida for 10 years, I've had a possum, a raccoon and a few stray cats. I've even had a slug a few years ago. I love it here! I've even seen armadillos but they were all dead. Also, ducks and geese. No flamingos yet.
Lori Vattes 4 weeks ago
Since living in Florida for 10 years, I've had a possum, a raccoon, a slug and a few stray cats. I love ii here!
Cheryl Fontaine 8 years ago
Hooray! I am so happy she is using Opie to teach people about possums. They are utterly harmless, carry no diseases, and eat slug and grubs
Conor Gilmartin 8 years ago
Diseases carried by possums include; tularemia, salmonella, toxoplasmosis, and coccidiosis. Infected animals may transmit leptospirosis to humans and other animals through their urine and faeces. Rabies is rare in opossums since they have some immunity to the virus. Pets, horses and other wildlife are also at risk for disease infection associated with opossums.
Load More Replies... Phillipe Knippel 8 years ago
I am a biologist here inRio, and I raised a lot of babies oposum, and yeah, you need to be careful or they end like a dog.
John L 8 years ago
As we learn more about wild critters, through places like the internet, the more we learn that there are a percentage of them that are predisposed to be tame around humans. And it is possible to take a small percentage of them and actually breed them as tame little children.
Cathy Shift 8 years ago
no good deed goes... nope i'm still going to have to go with rewarded.
Lori Vattes 4 weeks ago
Since living in Florida for 10 years, I've had a possum, a raccoon and a few stray cats. I've even had a slug a few years ago. I love it here! I've even seen armadillos but they were all dead. Also, ducks and geese. No flamingos yet.
Lori Vattes 4 weeks ago
Since living in Florida for 10 years, I've had a possum, a raccoon, a slug and a few stray cats. I love ii here!
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