That she shouldn't release 2 orphaned possums she's raised since bottle-feeding infancy into our neighborhood!

Long story short is I found a roadkilled mother possum, and I rescued one kit still clinging to it's mother's back. My intention was to raise it as my personal pet or else give it to a rehab person I know to raise.

My neighbor walked near the carcass 2 hours later and found 2 other possum kits that were hiding in the oak tree (hollow) near the carcass.

Well, all 3 possums were seen by a vet, mine was euthanized because it was not thriving and was blind, perhaps from trauma during the accident.

My neighbor milk bottle raised the 2 survivors, and she is convinced that possums know instinctively how to survive in the wild. Some fool gave her the idea that possum youngsters have a "window of time" where if they are released into the wild at say, 5 months old, they will learn to survive on their own. If they stay in captivity for a year or more, they "forget."

So her plan is to release the 2 survivor possums into the wild in Oregon, in winter! They have no idea how to survive, they think food comes from a dish. She has aggressive dogs in her backyard, so she won't be feeding them, the possums will most likely roam about the neighborhood stealing pet food.

I already told her Possums are not native to Oregon and I already told her that they need mother's instruction to survive in the wild. She doesn't believe me.

Can you guys who know about these things please write something persuasive that I can show her? Please give your professional opinions on this matter, and maybe a short story about your experiences in getting rid of problem possums (which I believe hers will become.) I think a good alternative to release would be to give them to a family I know with a rehaber's license, who will care for them as pets. Please help me convince her!
Thanks!

Wild animals should not be kept as pets. As tough a call as it is, just let her release them and let nature take it's course. Even though, it's probably illegal to release a non-native species into the wild.

Call your DNR to stop or turn your head! Big Bob is right it was wrong to make these possums pets in the first place. They won't survive period!

I have a good recipe,,,,,,,,if that will help????

Release them into thier native enviroment. The median strip of I-5. Problem solved!

Sometimes it is hard to do, but the best thing to do when you see orphaned wildlife is to turn your head and walk away. By taking those orphaned babies you just took away a much needed meal for a predator or scavenger before the winter season.

If those babies were orphaned in someones attic I would have put them down. If I saw them on the side of the road, let nature take its course.

Well, she won't euthanize them, not now after getting attached. And it is illegal to release.

I made the right choice to save a helpless creature from a horrible death from heat stroke and instead gave it the death needle. I don't regret ending it's suffering. The kit possum I rescued from the mother's carcass is dead. I was not there when my neighbor picked up the other 2, I had no idea they existed. (They were hiding in a tree nearby, I did not see them and left the scene.) My neighbor went of her own accord, without knowing that I already had a possum, and found the remaining 2 in the tree because they sneezed as she walked past them. Only days later when we happened to meet for lunch did we tell each other that we had found possums. It was a total surprise and a really odd coincidence that we both checked the same carcass at different times. So please don't blame me for her decision to keep them, I had nothing to do with it.


The problem is, she wants to just let them loose in suburbia. I think this is about the worst of all the possible solutions. What I'm trying to do now is convince her that if she won't euthanize, she sure as heck shouldn't just let them loose in the neighborhood. I know a wildlife rehab'er who will take them in and care for them in the countryside, he has outdoor enclosed facilities for them. I'm thinking this is the best solution as he won't let them escape and reproduce in the wild, nor harm any of our native species.

She won't kill them, not now after her kids have named them already. They've been playing with them like kittens since August. I think it would be better if she did euthanize them rather than release them, but it's just not something she's going to do.

What I am about to say is not meant to insult you. I'm just calling it as I see it. You are jealous someone else found two that were still healthy enough to survive. Now you are trying to make that person do what you would have done. It is upsetting you because you know about it. You could set baited live traps in your yard and try to catch them when she releases them. If they go to another neighbors house or her dogs get them then what can you do? Are you asking her who she will vote for? If its not the same as your choice will you try as hard to convince her to change?
If it's illegal to release them then you should tell her so. If she is not a licensed rehabber then she is already in violation of the law. By not reporting her you are aiding a law breaker. If the DNR came and took them would they go to a rehabber or be euthanized? Would you be happy with either outcome or only one?
You have opened a real 'can of worms' here. Think thru the ethics and consequences of any action you take. How good of a relationship do you have with this neighbor? Is this issue worth ruining a friendship?

Lundy: I think your out of line here. Seems to me she's trying to do the right thing by the animals, however at odds that may be to the image the AR's have of us.

Tell her to go ahead, then set 2 cage traps...you'll own them in no time!

Actually, if she releases them they will probably be alright. Your right, opossums aren't native to Oregon but in truth they have been there for a long time. In fact Opossums from Oregon migrated down into Calif. and thats how we got ours. As for the young suriving, mother possum does very little to teach her young about anything. The babies are carried around in her pouch until they get to big for it, then they ride on her and as she makes her rounds every now and then a baby will fall off and mama just keeps on going and that is how the young are dispersed about the country side. I just wouldn't release them in town where they might cause someone a problem, such as, taking up resedence under someones house.

Bob

I don't feel I'm 'out of line' at all. I started with the comment it is not meant to offend. I simply was trying to make sure rational thought processes are being used. #1 are laws being broken? #2 how often does this happen? #3 what if someone else found the babies and you never found out?
Read carefully ALL the things I wrote.

Let her release them.

They will either make it or they will not.

Either way, you are not going to change her mind and to continue to try after you clearly have already is just a waste of your time.

Just make sure that if you find them run over or if they become a nuicense that you point it out to her or the person the possums became a problem for.

Well I appreciate all the feedback here, it's been a stressful event, partially because it's so bizarre of a situation.

I even appreciate the feedback that I didn't want to hear, I, after all, did ask.

I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to urge her to not release them now, as we are starting winter here. I'm going to ask her to release them in spring, when they have the best chance at survival, and far from town. I think it's the best situation because I can't turn her in without ruining a friendship, and without hurting her kids emotionally: (they named them the first day they found them and helped bottle feed them.)
I don't think it's important for the possums to be euthanized as they are probably too numerous to ever rid them from Oregon anyway. The local wild animal rescue centers I have consulted with and they say they illegally release possums all the time! The law doesn't really care about people releasing them, they only feel compelled to act when they see someone own a possum as a pet with intent to keep it forever.

My plan of having them be spayed and neutered and in the care of a rehaber is off the table as far as she is concerned, so I should make the best of things and chill out.
I was trying to do right by the animal and by the environment, but, she rescued them, not me, and well, the results are on her head and not mine.

At least I'll still have a friendly neighbor at the end of the day!

Tsarevna, in reality your neighbor didn't "rescue" anything. "Picked up" would probably be a better analogy of this situation. 'Possums are a old world animal and still quite primitive and the young get very little parenting from the female. Babies the size of small field rats will surive just fine in the wild. Oregon has tens of thousands of 'possums and believe me your winters don't get cold enough or wet enough to kill them off. Remember, as we speak, there are
countless 'possums the same age as the ones your neighbor has, doing just fine in the wild.
Bob

I'm happy to hear things are working out.

When I was a kid we didn't have possums in Oregon. They started showing up in the early 70's. Truth be told there are thousands upon thousands now. What happens with two orphaned possum kits won't make any difference. Let it be.

I see your point Tsarevna, They may only be stupid possums but we should treat them with all the respect we would treat any other animal. Theres nothing wrong with looking out for the welfare of any animal. I would try to convince her to release them into the country though.

Well, to quote Chevy Chase, "I couldn't be more surprised if I woke up with my head sewn to the carpet."

I go over to my neighbors, to say goodbye to the possums. I relax, I don't pressure her, and just have a good time cuddling with them.

She tells me then that she's found a re-hab person to give them to! They will live outdoors in a sort of aviary-like pen enclosure. So they won't be breeding or somebody's pest; I think it's a good result.

Here's me saying goodbye. They left for their new home today.

Those look like army underwear tops.

T: Darn if you ain't a cutie.

For some reason I thought you were in your mid to late 30's. Weird.

That grinner reminds me of the one I gave away months ago. About that size now.

Glad to hear they went to a rehaber. Like you said, they are not native to oregon and are considered an invasive species. Although the authorities typically turn their heads, in Oregon it is just as illegal to re-release an animal as it is to keep one as a pet. Judging by the pic though I'm sure they would survive just fine in the wild even with winter just starting. That one looks about the size of the one I caught last weekend.

/blush at BigBob.

It is so weird. I can trap them, because I'm in "hunt mode," and don't hesitate dispatching them. But when you venture out during the summer and don't expect to see one, and you come upon a little kit like that, something pulls at the maternal heartstrings.
I'm such a sucker!

no just human.
bob evans