Invasive Opossum Has Reproduced, Causing Concern With Homer Biologists

What could be my former beloved Major-League Baseball team, the Athletics, is doing everything it can to leave Oakland for Las Vegas, which has equally saddened, infuriated and frustrated me. And while If it indeed is reality I’ve already made plans of how I’ll dump all of my OAKLAND A’s gear somewhere team officials can in theory see what they did to me, I’ll likely keep the set of pint glasses friends gave me for Christmas from a nonprofit organization that pays homage to the team’s still current aging ballpark, the Oakland Coliseum, known fondly by A’s fans as “Baseball’s Last Dive Bar, which happens to be home to the website of the same name (I also bought a shirt and calendar from them.)

One of the glasses that celebrates the old park that’s been the team’s home since it moved to Oakland from Kansas City in 1968 -Oakland is the team’s third home, so we should hardly be surprised it could happen again – depicts what what started at the Coliseum last season. Some feral opossums have rooted themselves into the press box area and beyond in the stadium, driving broadcasters crazy and creating more national punchlines towards the notorious penny-pinching franchise.

But on a more serious note, Alaskan biologists are dealing with an even more annoying possum around the Homer area. An invasive opossum that arrived in the Kenai Peninsula as a container ship stowaway, has now reproduced, which could wreak havoc on the ecosystem. Here’s more from Alaska Public Media News:

By Friday, operators of Homer’s animal shelter were asking pet owners to keep their animals indoors during Fish and Game’s live-trapping efforts.

As an invasive species, Herreman said the young opossums pose the same concerns that Grubby herself did, ranging from spreading infectious diseases to eating indigenous animals.

“There’s plenty of food sources for them, the weather’s warm,” Herreman said. “So unfortunately, that gives them a good chance of getting a foothold, and establishing a population if we don’t manage to check all these guys down pretty quick.”

Homer police said on Facebook that placements are available for Grubby’s offspring, so people shouldn’t be afraid to report them.

Lets’ hope the same possums that have invaded a crumbling beloved ballpark don’t do damage to local flora and fauna around the Last Frontier.