“I saw an arm move. Then the eyes opened.”
When Hamilton Wildlife Shelter in Australia received a call about a ringtail possum trapped between two gate poles, the situation already sounded grim.
The person who reported the animal believed the possum had died.
Shelly Burrowes, who responded to the call, prepared herself for the possibility that there would be nothing she could do.
But after finding the little animal wedged inside the gate, she noticed something that completely changed the rescue.
The Possum Looked Lifeless
It took Burrowes a little while to locate the trapped possum.
When she finally found him, he was hanging motionless between the poles.
At first glance, there seemed to be little hope.
As Burrowes carefully lifted him, his body remained limp.
But something didn’t feel right.
He wasn’t stiff, and there was still some warmth around his belly.
Burrowes initially thought that perhaps he had only recently died.
Then she saw movement.
One Tiny Movement Changed Everything
An arm shifted.
Moments later, the possum opened his eyes.
Burrowes suddenly realized that the animal everyone believed was dead was actually still alive.
And he needed help immediately.
The possum appeared weak, cold and barely responsive after being trapped in such an awkward position.
There was no time to waste.
She Climbed Onto Her Car To Reach Him
Freeing the possum wasn’t easy.
Burrowes struggled to lift him high enough to safely remove him from between the gate poles.
So she improvised.
She pulled her car directly up to the gate, climbed onto the hood and used the extra height to reach him.
From there, she was finally able to free the exhausted possum.
Once he was out, Burrowes rushed him back to Hamilton Wildlife Shelter for treatment.
He Was Barely Responsive At First
Back at the shelter, the possum was in rough shape.
He was extremely cold and barely reacting to what was happening around him.
Still, Burrowes had already seen one encouraging sign: He had survived long enough to be rescued.
She began warming him and providing the supportive care he desperately needed.
As the hours passed, the possum slowly began showing more signs of life.
By later that day, he was noticeably more alert.
Warmth Helped Bring Him Back
The improvement was dramatic.
The possum who had looked lifeless when Burrowes first arrived began moving around again as his body temperature returned to normal.
He was still bruised and sore from being trapped, so his care team continued giving him fluids, pain relief and close supervision.
His recovery wasn’t finished, but the change from his initial condition was encouraging.
What had appeared to be a heartbreaking recovery mission had become a fight for survival — and the possum was responding.
He May Soon Get A Second Chance In The Wild
The rescued possum is still being monitored while his injuries heal.
If his recovery continues to go well, the hope is that he will eventually be strong enough to return to the wild.
That outcome seemed almost impossible when Burrowes first found him hanging motionless in the gate.
But she looked closely enough to notice the smallest signs of life.
One moving arm and a pair of opening eyes were all it took to turn a sad discovery into an urgent rescue.
And because Burrowes acted quickly instead of giving up, this little ringtail possum now has another chance to go home.