ALASKA: GRUBBY THE OPOSSUM: FROM STOWAWAY TO LOCAL CELEBRITY

ALASKA: GRUBBY THE OPOSSUM: FROM STOWAWAY TO LOCAL CELEBRITY

IN 2023, AN OPOSSUM NAMED GRUBBY MADE AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY FROM WASHINGTON STATE TO HOMER, ALASKA, BY HIDING IN A SHIPPING CONTAINER. AFTER BEING SPOTTED, GRUBBY EVADED CAPTURE FOR WEEKS, DURING WHICH TIME SHE GAVE BIRTH TO A LITTER OF JOEYS. THE COMMUNITY WAS DIVIDED ON HOW TO HANDLE THE SITUATION, WITH SOME ADVOCATING FOR HER REMOVAL DUE TO OPOSSUMS BEING AN INVASIVE SPECIES, WHILE OTHERS EMBRACED HER PRESENCE, EVEN LAUNCHING A “FREE GRUBBY” CAMPAIGN. EVENTUALLY, GRUBBY WAS CAPTURED AND RELOCATED TO THE ALASKA ZOO. HER OFFSPRING WERE ALSO CAPTURED OVER TIME, WITH ONE BEING SENT TO THE OREGON ZOO.