HUDSON — Two baby opossums were given a second lease on life after they were rescued from certain death on Green Street, Hudson Police Chief L. Edward Moore said Thursday.
The two animals were found wandering in the street near the Stewart’s Shop and would have met the same fate as their mother. The adult opossum was run over by a car and killed, Moore said.
John Egan, 74, of Greenport notified Hudson police of his discovery and brought the two opossums to the police station on Union Street.
Once the marsupials were left at the station, communications specialist Kevin Kinney contacted the state Department of Environmental Conservation for advice on where they should be taken.
DEC recommended contacting the Friends of the Feathered and Furry Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Hunter in Greene County. Rachael Ford soon arrived and brought the two back to the rehabilitation center, where they will be fed and cared for until they are old enough to live on their own.
Moore thinks the babies may have been in their mother’s pouch when she was killed, and were remaining in the area because that is where the mother’s scent was. They were newborn, possibly just a couple of weeks old, Moore said.
Opossums remain in the mother’s pouch until they are two months old. Between two and four months of age, they may ride on their mother’s back and are dependent on the mother for help finding food and shelter, said Ron Perez, president and CEO of the Columbia-Greene Humane Society.
A single opossum can potentially eliminate 4,000 ticks in one week. They also eat slugs, beetles, cockroaches and garbage, Perez said.
Opossums are nearly completely immune to contracting rabies or passing it along, and are immune to the venom of rattlesnakes, due to their slow metabolism, Perez said.
Opossums are the only marsupials indigenous to North America. They are often called “living fossils” because they’ve been able to survive on earth for more than 70 million years, Perez said.
About 25 years ago, the Friends of the Feathered and Furry Wildlife Center established a “second chance” animal haven on Route 23A in Hunter.
The center is run by Licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator Barbara “Missy” Runyan, who has been saving helpless animals brought to the center from all areas of the state.
Last September, a rare Great Egret was brought there, after it was rescued with a broken leg, from Sutherland Pond at the Ooms Conservation Area in the Town of Chatham.
The center is all volunteer and relies on donations to stay afloat, according to its website.