When you see an opossum lying in or along the side of the road, please remember that they may still be alive but injured and unable to move.

And even if an adult female has passed away, she may still have living babies inside her pouch.

Those babies often have an excellent chance of survival when found and brought to a rehabber.

DO NOT try to remove those babies from the pouch!

Just place mom in a box or something and take the whole lot of them as is to a rehabber.

The babies jawbones grow around the teat so they don’t detach. Removing them improperly will cause those babies some big problems.

If it is safe for you to do so, please consider stopping to check.

A few minutes of your time could mean the difference between life and death for an injured animal or her babies

  • ickplant@lemmy.worldOPM
    12·
    2 days ago

    When you see an opossum lying in or along the side of the road, please remember that they may still be alive but injured and unable to move.

    And even if an adult female has passed away, she may still have living babies inside her pouch.

    Those babies often have an excellent chance of survival when found and brought to a rehabber.

    DO NOT try to remove those babies from the pouch!

    Just place mom in a box or something and take the whole lot of them as is to a rehabber.

    The babies jawbones grow around the teat so they don’t detach. Removing them improperly will cause those babies some big problems.

    If it is safe for you to do so, please consider stopping to check.

    A few minutes of your time could mean the difference between life and death for an injured animal or her babies.

    You can find your nearest local wildlife rehabber here: https://ahnow.org/

  • anon6789@lemmy.world
    2·
    2 days ago

    And even if an adult female has passed away, she may still have living babies inside her pouch.

    It’s in the sticky, but just in case anyone hasn’t seen it:

    DO NOT try to remove those babies from the pouch! Just place mom in a box or something and take the whole lot of them as is to a rehabber.

    The babies jawbones grow around the teat so they don’t detach. Removing them improperly will cause those babies some big problems.

      • anon6789@lemmy.world
        2·
        2 days ago

        Thanks! We want as many people helping animals as possible, and it is always a bit sad when we meet people who tried to help but end up dooming their little critters instead! 😔

        I feel bad always crashing your posts with stuff that’s kinda gross or a bummer, but I’m sure people would rather learn before they end up on the spot and not know what to do.