Every Spring, female opossums hold babies in their pouches growing strong and healthy. Sadly, some of these mother opossums are hit by cars or attacked by dogs as they forage for food, and their babies cannot survive without emergency rescue.
The SCPA is currently caring for 20 rescued opossum babies. Many were found orphaned in people’s backyards. Some were rescued after their mother was attacked by dogs or cats. One was found with a rodent trap stuck to its hand and will likely require one finger to be amputated.
Tragically, many more slowly starve or freeze to death in their mother’s pouch after she was hit by a car.
You can help. If you hit an opossum with your car, or see one lying on the side of the road, and if it is safe to stop, please check on the opossum:
If the opossum is alive but injured, please call us at 831-264-5427 or visit spcamc.org/wildlife.
If the opossum is recently deceased, and if you are in a location where you are safe from other vehicles, please check to see if the opossum is male or female. Their anatomy is easily apparent. If the opossum is female, use gloves and a towel, rag, or washcloth to gently open the pouch and check for babies. They can be as small as honey bees, but they will be pink and squirming. If you find babies, please call us for help. Please don’t attempt to remove the babies yourself as you could seriously injure their tiny mouths. Be sure to always wash your hands afterwards.
The SPCA Monterey County Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center requests your assistance helping us save these tiny babies. We know this is unpleasant to think about, but your help can save lives. Opossum babies can survive for several hours after their mother dies.
In 2022, the SPCA Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center cared for 40 opossum babies rescued after their mothers were hit by cars, and an additional 90 opossum babies who suffered in other ways, such as their mother being caught by dogs or otherwise orphaned.
Opossums are North America’s only marsupial. They are beneficial to our local environment, as they eat pests like cockroaches, mice, rats, snails, and slugs, and just one opossum can consume up to 5,000 ticks in a single season.
Every year, the SPCA Wildlife Center rescues over 2,500 injured or orphaned wild animals. This work only is made possible thanks to your compassionate donations. To donate to help, please visit www.SPCAmc.org/donate. To report injured, sick, or orphaned wildlife in Monterey County, please call 831-264-5427.
The SPCA Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center is the only full service wildlife rehabilitation center serving Monterey County. We operate under permits from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Your support is extremely important to us, as we are not a chapter or any other agency and we do not have a parent organization. Everything we do is made possible by you.
SPCA Monterey County is your nonprofit, independent, donor-supported humane society that has been serving the animals and people of Monterey County since 1905. The SPCA is not a chapter of any other agency and does not have a parent organization. They shelter homeless, neglected and abused pets and livestock, and provide humane education and countless other services to the community. They are the local agency you call to investigate animal cruelty, rescue and rehabilitate injured wildlife, and aid domestic animals in distress.
Online: www.SPCAmc.org
Facebook: /SPCAmc
Instagram: @SPCAmc
Twitter: @SPCAmc
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