9/29/2023 – Officer Mullen reports…
Early one morning Officer Ryer and I were called out to a residence for an opossum with his leg caught in a snap trap that was intended for a smaller animal. When we arrived on scene the concerned homeowner met us in front and took us to the backyard where we saw the juvenile opossum huddled against the back fence. As I approached the animal remained still, I used a towel to calm him, so I could better see what was going on. Thankfully the trap was easily released and I was able to quickly free the foot. There was a small break in skin where the trap was removed and the foot was quite swollen. When placing the animal into the wire transfer cage, I noticed that the opossum was appropriately using his foot while walking and climbing in the cage. This was a great sign. We spoke with the homeowner about better ways of keeping unwanted rodents away from their house. Keeping areas free of food and other temptations to wildlife and using scents like ammonia to deter wildlife are much better options than using snap traps. Snap traps should never be used in outdoor areas as they can often injure many different types of both domestic pets and urban wildlife that they are not designed for. The homeowner understood and vowed to never use these types of traps in that space again.
Upon getting back to the shelter, I brought the juvenile opossum to see our staff veterinarian for an evaluation on the leg that was caught in the trap. By this time, the swelling had reduced dramatically and the youngster appeared to be fully able to use and bear weight on his leg. Since opossums are ground dwellers that burrow in all types of soil, they are susceptible to infections that can quickly become serious. The wound on opossum’s leg was confirmed to be open and oozing. Since he was a juvenile he was able to be transferred to Lila at Yggdrasil Urban Wildlife Rescue to do some healing in a controlled environment where his wound can be cleaned and monitored. Once feeling better he will be released back into the same neighborhood that he came from. Opossums are nomadic animals and do not tend to sleep in one place for more than three nights. I know that he will enjoy his few nights at Yggdrasil so he can heal fast and move on to enjoy the many different nights to come in the wild city of San Francisco.
If you would like to learn more about humane ways to abate and protect your home from the prolific urban environment, please contact organizations like Wildcare https://discoverwildcare.org and other websites that find kinder ways to share our environment with the wildlife around us. Never hesitate to call our dispatch at 415-554-9400 if you ever see any type of animal stuck in a trap.
