Recently in opossums Category

Got this reminder from the folks at Coast & Canyon Wildlife Rehabilitation about the hazards of tree-trimming season.

This is a nesting time for birds and other wildlife, so it's a good idea to check for any active nests before you being a landscaping project.

Here's more on that topic from an Orange County Register blog post.

Meanwhile, Coast & Canyon -- who already have UStream live cams up for squirrels and skunks -- have launched a new live cam focused on baby opossums. Opossums being nocturnal, most of the action on this one happens after dark.

Live streaming video by Ustream

We wrote a while back about Coast & Canyon Wildlife Rehabilitation, a group that's based in Malibu but has several satellite volunteers here in the South Bay.

On Saturday they'll be sponsoring an online fundraising event called a "squirrel-a-thon." Live cams will give you a close-up view of a variety of wildlife being cared for and fed by volunteers. There also will be viewer question and answer sessions. Among the critters featured will be baby squirrels, chipmunks, skunks and opossums.

It runs from 12:02 to 4:02 p.m. and promises to be both fun and educational. Great for kids and families.

You can sign up for it here (scroll to the bottom of the page).

 

Did you see today's Daily Breeze story on the Coast & Canyon Wildlife Rehabilitation group?

Based in Malibu, Coast & Canyon founder Marcia Rybak now has a network of trained assistants throughout the South Bay. That's good news for those of you who wonder where to take an injured or abandoned baby opossum or squirrel. 

There's a contact list on the group's website (scroll down for the South Bay people & phone numbers).

Meanwhile, enjoy watching this live video cam of three baby squirrels currently being cared for by the organization. But I'll warn you. It's addicting. (And I'm told that there will be audio added to tonight's 5 p.m. feeding.)

And about the coin .... A quarter was placed in the nest initially to give viewers a perspective on the size of the babies. Now, the wildlife group is getting coins sent to them from around the world so they'll be featuring some of those in the coming days. Tomorrow look for a coin and flag either from Ireland or Poland (today's U.S. flag is in honor of Presidents Day). 

If you'd like to post comments live on the video along with other viewers, go to:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/squirrelwatcher

Here's another helpful link that lists all licensed wildlife rehabbers for each state.

Online TV Shows by Ustream

It's baby season so you may wind up finding one of these little guys in your backyard. What to do? Find a wildlife rehabilitator near you. In our local area, we have South Bay Wildlife (310-378-9921 or SBWildlifeRehab@aol.com).

HT: LAObserved.com

Here's a story that ran in our sister paper, The Daily News, about the efforts to rescue and rehabilitate an opposum that was shot in the head in Van Nuys.

According to the account by staff writer Dana Bartholomew, it all started when a call came in to the Los Angeles Department of Animal Services last Saturday reporting that an opossum had been shot in front of the caller's apartment complex.

When West Valley shelter Officer G. hartel arrived, she found the marsupial wrapped in blankets, defended by neighborhood children.

"Kids were standing around it; they thought I was going to harm it," Hartel said.

Rather than take the animal in for almost-certain euthanasia, Hartel took the wounded animal to Brenda Varvarigos, founder of Valley Wildlife Care in Woodland Hills.

Varvarigos, a mother of three, has rehabilitated some 920 injured birds and mammals picked up by animal control officers in just the last year.

Licensed by state and federal wildlife agencies, she nursed the animal's wounds and took the opossom in to Dr. Attila Molnar and Dr. kerry Milliken, a husband-and-wife team at Double R Veterinary center in Calabasas.

"Every aninmal has just as much right to exist. whether it's a small bird or a bald eagle or an opossum," said Molnar. "They should all get another chance."

And another chance is exactly what this opossum got, thanks to a network of people who cared enough to go the extra mile.

Varvarigos said it may cost her up to $700 in food and medicine before she can set him free.

 

 

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