Lions, tigers and bears — oh-possum!
The Smithsonian National Zoo welcomed a Virginia opossum named Basil to the Small Mammal House earlier this summer.
Basil was previously at local wildlife rehabilitation center City Wildlife in northwest as a non-releasable animal before he made his way to the zoo.
Before being found, Basil had been injured and lost one of his eyes during a predator attack. He was brought to City Wildlife to be treated and recover. The National Zoo says that young opossums are at large risk for predation by birds of prey, larger mammals and snakes.
Officials said it was unlikely that Basil would survive long in the wild with limited eyesight.
He was brought to the National Zoo to be an ambassador for his species, according to a news release.
Opossums are sometimes mistaken for rodents, but they’re actually marsupials. They’re in the same family as kangaroos and koalas — and they’re the only marsupials native to North America.
The National Zoo says that Basil is adjusting very well to his new home. Zookeepers say that he is interacting well with them and is, as a nocturnal creature, exploring his new habitat at night and spending most of his days sleeping.
