opossum

Pictured above is a opossum I captured on 11.3.02. He had a bad back-right leg but was able to book it across the field/ woods where my husband and I had let him go- only minutes from our home. This morning my daughter comes running back inside the house to let me know I had to get my camera. There's a opossum in the field beside our house. After putting another layer of clothes on I grabbed my camera and began taking pictures. As I watched this guy move across the cold snow I noticed his bad back-right leg. I would venture to say this is the same opossum we released over 11 yrs ago. The only thing that stops me from believing it completely is a opossum's lifespan is about 4 yrs. Does anyone know what the lifespan of a opossum really is? Here's the pics from this morning's shoot...




Look at that long tooth. He appears to be in good health other than injuries to his left eye and ear from a fight I'm sure he's won. He actually let my daughter and I stand about 2 ft in front of him. What a blessing to photograph him in the morning's light when he's supposed to be nocturnal...

4 comments:

Introverted Art said...

oh my goodness how sweet. I think it is the same one too. You guys did good.

S said...

Hi,
I found you because I had to sign in using a Google account. I hope you remember me? (It's "gel",not "S" that appears for google.) I have no idea how long an oppossum lives. Your photos are even more beautiful than last I visited a few yrs ago. Plus, the post is so informative. I eat up your journey threads voraciously. Thx for still being here and sharing. Beautiful header, too.

I'm at http://soulcrayons.typepad.com/soulcrayons/, not at the ancient address google made me use.

~Gel

Caroline Gill said...

Just amazing! An extraordinary story ... and I hope you will draw the beautiful little fellow in your journal!

Kay said...

I once had a baby oppossum snarl at me when we were driving it away from the inside of our garage to a forest preserve. It was the scariest looking thing.