Meet           

 ~*~*~ Ginny ~*~*~

No, that's not a rat! That's Ginny! Ginny is a Virginia Opossum, and she lives at Caumsett State Park on Long Island.  She's about 6 months old, and loves to be held by the volunteers who care for her. So why exactly do I have an opossum?

>scroll down for more cute pictures<

On Sundays I volunteer at Volunteers for Wildlife at Caumsett State Park. At VW, injured, sick, and orphaned animals are cared for until they are healthy or old enough to be released. Ginny, however, is an exception- she is a permanent education animal. She is an orphan and has been raised entirely by people, so she cannot be released. She will stay at VW for the rest of her life. There are several other permanent animals at VW (mostly raptors), but the majority of the animals are successfully released back into the wild.

Among the other animals that are treated at VW are cottontail rabbits, turtles (mostly eastern box turtles), raptors (kestrels, owls, etc.), songbirds (cardinals, finches, sparrows, wrens, you name it), squirrels, opossums, and waterfowl. So how do all these animals end up at VW? People from all over Long Island find them and bring them in! Anyone who finds an animals that was hit by a car, fell out of a tree, was attacked by a cat, or appears to be orphaned can bring it to VW.

For more info about VW, you can e-mail me at BlueMoonGoddess@att.net or click here to visit VW's website. Eventually I will set up a wildlife page and expand my forum for wildlife topics (opossums included)!

But this is Ginny's page- so here are some more pictures!!!

Ginny and her cagemate

Baby Ginny (she's a lot bigger now!)

Whatcha looking at?

Smile, Ginny! (Ginny eats a pear)

Opossums have been around since prehistoric times! They have prehensile tails, big meaty hands and crinkly ears. Adult opossums can get as large as cats, and have grey and white fur. Opossums aren't rodents, they're marsupials, which means they have a pouch for their babies. Opossums are the only marsupials native to North America! In the wild, opossums have a lifespan of 1-2 years, but in captivity they can live to be 10. Baby opossums are clingy, and will grab your fingers and sit on your shoulder. They have HUGE black eyes and their faces are so cute!!!! Remember, it's illegal to keep opossums as pets, so don't go kidnapping baby opossums from the woods or anything. VW is able to keep Ginny because many of the volunteers are licenced wildlife rehabilitators, and she will be used in educational programs. VW also has a permit to keep the opossums (and other animals) for educational purposes.

How to Help Opossums

Probably everyone has seen roadkilled opossums. If you REALLY want to be a saint and help opossums, here's what you can do: Keep rubber gloves in your car. When you see a roadkilled opossum on the side of the road, pull over (if possible), put on your gloves, and check the opossum (yuck). If it is female, it is likely that there will be baby opossums in the pouch!!! The babies may be uninjured and you can save their lives!!! Bring the mommy opossum to a vet or wildlife rehabilitator, where the babies can be safely removed and cared for. Not that I really expect anyone to do this, but I thought I'd mention it...

Ginny says "Thanks for visiting.... Come again soon!!!"

Go back to my rat page