A few weeks ago, an injured opossum was brought to the Cape Wildlife Center in Barnstable, Massachusetts. She had clearly been hit by a vehicle and was dealing with several injuries to her face, yet she showed impressive resilience.
“Even with everything she’d been through, she could still stand, walk, and stayed aware of what was happening around her,” the staff shared. “That quick check told us she still had a real chance.”
Her recovery was expected to take time, but her determination never wavered — and a recent incident at the center made that very clear.
After a rough start, the opossum gradually grew stronger. Then she surprised everyone.
When staff entered her room one morning, they discovered that the door to her kennel was wide open — and the opossum had vanished. Luckily, she hadn’t traveled far.
Finding her was simply a matter of listening.
“Our opossum patient staged an impressive overnight escape,” the center wrote. “But thanks to her very loud snoring, she made it incredibly easy for us to find her hiding under the shift cage.”
Once she’d made her break for freedom, the exhausted marsupial had promptly fallen asleep.
Though her escape wasn’t exactly approved, the staff took it as a wonderful reminder of her strong spirit and desire to survive.
“We’re thrilled with how well this tough little marsupial is recovering,” her caregivers said. “After everything she’s been treated for — from broken jawbones to eye injuries — it’s amazing to see her resting comfortably and improving every day.”
If her progress continues, she’ll eventually return to the wild, where she can explore, roam, and nap exactly where she belongs.