May 8, 2015

Five baby opossums get a second chance

By Deanna Barth


It was late Friday afternoon when I received a call from the Hollister Animal Shelter. A mother opossum had been hit by a car and witnesses had watched several of her babies go flying across the pavement.  

Animal Control Officer, Anna Patterson, arrived to find the mother opossum deceased and two of the six babies alive. 

Back at the shelter, she called me to pick up the two survivors. During our conversation she mentioned that one of the babies had landed precariously close to a storm drain. I knew the drain needed to be checked!

I drove to the intersection and peered through the grate and sure enough, there were three baby opossums at the bottom – and they were still moving! 

I informed Anna and she in turn contacted a city crew to remove the heavy grate for me.


Lying on my stomach, I was able to lift up the tiny babies with my net. They were ice cold!  

I placed them in a pillowcase on top of a snap heat pack to warm them up. 

It was close to 5pm and traffic was getting heavy. I drove toward the shelter to pick up the other two and called ahead to the SPCA for Monterey County Wildlife Center. They were kind enough to have a staff member meet me half way.

Hopefully, these tiny opossums will thrive and be able to return to the wild in the near future.


A huge thank you to Alex and Jake for 
helping me gain access to the storm drain!


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