Possum Posse II - The Sequel
From Volunteer Views, by NC Zoo volunteer Carol Kaczmarek):
"In spring of 2008, the NC Zoo received an interesting request from the Copenhagen Zoo in Denmark. They asked that we send them nine young opossums for display and breeding for several zoos in Denmark.
"We here in NC consider opossums very ordinary. In fact, many folks here consider them an ugly pest and call them varmints. Some folks hunt them. Others consider them funny as they were in the old TV series The Beverly Hillbillies. (OK If you do not know what that is—ask your parents or grandparents—Unfortunately I remember it even though I toyed with the idea of claiming someone told me about it.)
"In Denmark, they are considered exotic since the species does not exist there. I really like opossums; I hope they will be a popular exhibit.
"This request brought a flurry of activity. In the WRC [Wildlife Rehabilitation Center], our supervisor began watching the litters of opossums we received to pick suitable candidates. Luckily their request came at the time of year where we admit a
number of orphans, the summer breeding season.
"The Copenhagen Zoo wanted three males and six females, they would be breeding them to maintain a captive population there so care needed to be taken that the opossums be unrelated.
"At the same time, our curator of mammals, Terry Webb, needed to discover what paperwork and quarantine regulations needed to be in place before the opossums could be sent to Denmark. This included getting an international health certificate and a USFWS Customs Declaration Form. They then needed to be quarantined for six months following Danish Quarantine Procedures. Finally they needed to clear a TSA Homeland Security inspection on site.
"For those of us who work in the WRC, the first few months while they were at the center were delightful. Why? Because for a portion of their free time, rabies vaccinated volunteers were allowed to handle these opossums. Since the youngsters would not be released into the wild, they did not need to be kept “wild” and fearful of people.
"In fact, the opposite was true. We were encouraged to handle them so they would be comfortable in the presence of people. Of course, this was a tough job, but somebody needed to do it. We were happy to oblige, and for us, they left much too soon."
"In spring of 2008, the NC Zoo received an interesting request from the Copenhagen Zoo in Denmark. They asked that we send them nine young opossums for display and breeding for several zoos in Denmark.
"We here in NC consider opossums very ordinary. In fact, many folks here consider them an ugly pest and call them varmints. Some folks hunt them. Others consider them funny as they were in the old TV series The Beverly Hillbillies. (OK If you do not know what that is—ask your parents or grandparents—Unfortunately I remember it even though I toyed with the idea of claiming someone told me about it.)
"In Denmark, they are considered exotic since the species does not exist there. I really like opossums; I hope they will be a popular exhibit.
"This request brought a flurry of activity. In the WRC [Wildlife Rehabilitation Center], our supervisor began watching the litters of opossums we received to pick suitable candidates. Luckily their request came at the time of year where we admit a
number of orphans, the summer breeding season.
"The Copenhagen Zoo wanted three males and six females, they would be breeding them to maintain a captive population there so care needed to be taken that the opossums be unrelated.
"At the same time, our curator of mammals, Terry Webb, needed to discover what paperwork and quarantine regulations needed to be in place before the opossums could be sent to Denmark. This included getting an international health certificate and a USFWS Customs Declaration Form. They then needed to be quarantined for six months following Danish Quarantine Procedures. Finally they needed to clear a TSA Homeland Security inspection on site.
"For those of us who work in the WRC, the first few months while they were at the center were delightful. Why? Because for a portion of their free time, rabies vaccinated volunteers were allowed to handle these opossums. Since the youngsters would not be released into the wild, they did not need to be kept “wild” and fearful of people.
"In fact, the opposite was true. We were encouraged to handle them so they would be comfortable in the presence of people. Of course, this was a tough job, but somebody needed to do it. We were happy to oblige, and for us, they left much too soon."
Labels: Carol Kaczmarek, Copenhagan Zoo, NC Zoo, opossum, Valerie H. Schindler, wildlife rehabilitation
posted by Russ Williams at
2:12 PM
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