In Memory of Beaker

A while back Marilyn did a post about our off-exhibit opossum, Beaker. Beaker can also be seen enthusiastically eating a pumpkin as part of the pumpkin montage. Sadly, Beaker was an old opossum (he was 3, which is about as old as they get in captivity), and on Sunday when our vet was here he had a seizure and had to be euthanized. He had been showing signs of going downhill for that last couple of months, so while this wasn’t surprising, it was really sad for us.

Marilyn mentioned in her post that Beaker is special to us, and that’s really true. Almost every single day he’d be out on our hall walking around for almost the entire day. It was to the point where it was more abnormal for him not to be on the hall then it was for him to be. He provided daily cute yet mischievous companionship for us.

One thing I liked to say about Beaker is that he’s “all ‘possum”.  I say this because opossums do this thing called scent marking. They do it a lot during breeding season, it’s when they lick something and then rub the sides of their heads against it. It’s like marking their territory. Well, it happened to be Beaker’s second favorite past time (second only to eating) no matter the season. He scent marked EVERYTHING with great vigor. Like it was his job. Like it was his calling that he took very seriously. Like he looked like he enjoyed it so much that I’m half tempted to try it out to see what all the hype’s about. I find it to be simulaneously disgusting and enthralling. Which is why I give you the shmear montage in memory of this ‘possum who was as ‘possum as a ‘possum could be. Enjoy.

[quicktime]/keepers/files/2010/01/SmearMontage.mov[/quicktime]

8 responses to In Memory of Beaker

  1. Emily says:

    Thanks for sharing. The montage was very cute. At least he had a passion in life and really went with it.

  2. Beck Tench says:

    I think the title of the video should be “MINE MINE MINE.” RIP Beaker.

  3. Courtney says:

    Beaker will be greatly missed….you were the best sniffer!

  4. Marilyn Johnson says:

    Good video, Erin. Beaker was definitely a special opossum.

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