We all know surviving in nature can be a tough ordeal, but is it possible to be tougher than nature? In little Eva’s case, it certainly is! In early May, the young Virginia opossum was found running down Eva Drive in Port Royal, VA, and brought to rehabber Karen Brace on May 6. At the time, she was around 3 to 3.5 months old, an age when she should still be with her mom, and weighed a mere 58 grams when she should’ve been around 300. The tiny marsupial was all fur and bone when Karen received her, but that wasn’t the most worrisome part…she had no eyes! Vets who examined Eva speculate she could’ve just been born without them, something not too uncommon and possible in other animals like dogs.
Normally, eyeless animals are euthanized, as they wouldn’t be able to survive in the wild, but Eva was determined to live. “She was such a fighter,” Karen said, “I had to give her a chance.” Karen quickly ensured Eva got hydrated and gradually started feeding her opossum formula to replace missing nutrients, vitamins, and calcium. Due to Eva’s blindness, Karen included very few climbing elements in her enclosure at first, but even without eyes, Eva was pretty mellow and quite fearless, a good sign of things to come. In fact, she doesn’t even know there’s anything wrong with her!
After a week, she continued improving and getting stronger, but still couldn’t be returned to the wild, so Karen added Eva to her non-releasable license. This means she will remain with Karen her whole life. To get this approval, Karen worked with her vet and the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. The process was longer than usual since blind animals are normally not approved due to the stresses of being exposed to unknown noises and smells, but since Eva had only known darkness her whole life, she wasn’t scared by her surroundings!
As Eva’s health continued progressing, Karen added more enrichment elements to her enclosure, including a ladder and running wheel, and even got her a job of sorts: animal ambassador at Karen’s very own Awesome ‘Possumz, an organization dedicated to educating the public about the US and Canada’s only native marsupial. In this role, she will feature in programs to teach kids and adults about opossums’ environmental benefits and debunk myths and misconceptions about them. Karen also sees Eva as a great role model for people (and other animals) with disabilities.
Eva debuted at the Awesome ‘Possumz Possum-bilities store in Fredericksburg, VA on July 1, merely the beginning of a fruitful career as an ambassador for her species. Her tenacity and drive to live despite overwhelming odds inspired Karen to research what the name “Eva” means. It means “life”, as sure a sign for the little opossum’s future as anything else. She was found in a terrible condition, with a grave affliction that could have spelled her end, but the adorable marsupial pulled through against all that nature threw at her, proving once and for all that nothing is im-possum-ble.
Written by Conall Rubin-Thomas
