Want to House Some Baby Opossums? A San Francisco Shelter Needs Your Yard

If you’re a person in the Bay Area who has a backyard, you might be aware that the many garden-less humans in your vicinity are already seething with envy, especially in San Francisco. If you also happen to be looking for new ways to lord your garden status all over your loved ones and neighbors, you might want to get in touch with Yggdrasil Urban Wildlife Rescue and make your yard infinitely cuter.

The San Francisco-based animal rescue is currently seeking folks with enough outdoor space to securely house some unfeasibly dreamy baby opossums for a month or two. An exciting prospect given that opossums are the most placid of all of the city critters and won’t cause mayhem (*glances at raccoons*) or make everything smell like weed (*side-eyes skunks*).

Now, some of the more monstrous among you might be thinking “Why on earth would I want to help out long-tailed trash cats?” In which case, please immediately rethink your life choices and kindly listen to this nice man on TikTok who thoroughly understands the magic of opossums. (They are literally rattlesnake-proof, for crying out loud!)

@zane_lamprey This is Skittles. She wants you to know that opossums are perfect neighbors! Possums have a bad reputation, because some people think they look scary. That is because when they get scared, they show their teeth. If that doesn’t work, they start to drool–so they look like they are sick. If that doesn’t work, they play dead—called “playing possum”. But, possums are EXTREMELY non-aggressive. Bites from possum are almost unheard of. They can’t get rabies, because they are marsupials, and their body temperature is too low–about 95° They also have a natural immunity to rattlesnake venom. They also can’t get Lyme disease–and can eat thousands of ticks a year. Possums groom themselves like cats. They have unique thumbs on their back feet. And prehensile tails–which mean it’s capable of grasping or holding– but they don’t hang from their tail, like you may have seen in a cartoon. Possum are a healthy part of urban ecosystems. While you’re sleeping, they’re doing a lot of good–eating pests and garbage. In the wild, their average lifespan is 1-2 years, because of predators, cars, and disease. In captivity it’s not much longer… So, hopefully you’ll share this with someone, so people can better understand them. They’re not scary… you’re scary! #Pos#Possumo#Opossumb#babyopossuml#WildlifeRehabl#WildlifeRescuei#AnimalRescueb#UrbanWildlifer#Marsupials#PossumLovev#SaveWildlifel#WildlifeEducationi#CritterCares#PossumFactsl#WildlifeAwarenesst#CuteAnimalst#NatureLoversl#WildlifeConservationn#FunAnimalFactsl#WildlifeProtection ♬ original sound – Zane Lamprey

According to Yggdrasil’s specifications, willing marsupial lovers need to be able to house a 4’ x 8’ x 8” enclosure in a secure place on their property and be willing to feed the baby opossums every day. (Oh, the hardship!) There’s also some daily poop cleaning involved, but who cares? How bad can baby opossum poop really be? Worse than a seagull’s? Unlikely!

These particular opossums need outdoor housing as they acclimate to the outside world prior to being released. Private backyards are the safest place for them to do that. And don’t worry: Yggdrasil provides full training to all volunteers, and no prior experience with wildlife rescue is needed.

Fret not if you are one of the many yard-less folks living in the Bay who still wants to help/coo over the beady-eyed brushy babies. Yggdrasil is also seeking people to transport wildlife, build animal enclosures and even hand-rear orphaned animals too young to live outside. Experienced volunteers are also needed for Yggdrasil’s emergency response team.

All potential volunteers can apply via a form on Yggdrasil’s website. And remember: it’s a universal truth that the closer you are to baby opossums, the cooler you get. Nature is healing.