Photos: Cop Rescues Opossum Babies After Accident

A Tampa Police officer is getting the credit for giving seven baby opossums a new lease on life following a fatal accident that resulted in the death of their mother and a few of their siblings.

The scene unfolded at 2:30 a.m. Friday on Kennedy Boulevard West at South Armenia Avenue, the police department reported. It seems a motorist struck the animal family and stopped, thinking a cat had run in front of the vehicle.

When Officer Andrew Visser came across the scene, he stopped to help out.

Realizing the crash didn’t involve a cat, Visser swung into action to rescue the critters.

“They were walking all over the road and they could barely walk,” Visser told department officials. He scooped up the surviving babies and placed them into a box.

When animal control couldn’t help, Visser took the newborns to the Blue Pearl veterinary hospital on Busch Lake Boulevard.

Medical staff at Blue Pearl reported Friday morning that the babies were doing well and are soon to be released into the care of a rehabilitation specialist. The hope is to eventually release them back into the wild.

See Also:

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• Manatee Comforts Pooch Stranded in River
• Baby Squirrel, Feisty Bird Rescued by Clearwater Police

Blue Pearl’s Dr. Peter Helmer said Visser made the right call in regard to rescuing the babies since their mother was killed, but added that oftentimes it’s best to leave baby animals alone.

“Most baby wildlife should be left alone because the parents will come back to look for them,” he said.

Blue Pearl spokeswoman Carrie O’Brion noted that pets should be kept away from animal babies that appear to be stranded and that it is OK to step in if it appears critters are in danger of coming into contact with cars. Otherwise, she said, it’s best to pick up the phone and call Blue Pearl with any questions about animal rescue or relocation “before” animals are touched or moved.

“Once you move them, it makes it more difficult for the parents to find them,” she explained.

Blue Pearl locations are found throughout the Bay area. For more information, visit them online.

Visser isn’t the only local law enforcement officer lately to demonstrate that protecting and serving extends to four-legged creatures. Earlier this year, fellow Tampa Police officers took time out to rescue a kitten that was stuck in a storm drain. Cleawater Police have had their own share of animal rescues as of late. Officers there saved a baby squirrel and one even braved a chase through mud and mangroves to save a bird that had been injured.

“It’s the little things that keep you going,” Clearwater Officer Christian Zarra explained after the bird’s down-and-dirty rescue.

Photos courtesy of the Tampa Police Department

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