She was guarding eleven lives.
Published on Aug 1, 2026 at 4:45 PM
When a Florida teacher noticed an opossum hopelessly stuck in a soccer net at her school one morning, she immediately called Cat Clifford for help. Clifford works with Back To Nature Wildlife Refuge and has experience helping wild animals out of sticky situations.
Clifford arrived at the school and went straight to work. The opossum was defensive and frightened — but only because she had her eleven babies with her.
Knowing the opossum was a mom who just wanted to get back to caring for her babies, Clifford worked quickly and carefully to get her free as soon as possible. As the minutes passed, the mama began to calm down. She seemed to realize that Clifford was there to help her and her babies.
“She gradually relaxed and allowed me to free her from the net while keeping all [eleven] joeys safely with her,” Clifford told The Dodo. “It was one of those rare moments that reminds you how resilient wildlife can be and how important it is to approach every rescue with patience and respect.”
Clifford was able to free the mama without incident. Even though she and her babies seemed to be in good condition, she transported them to Back To Nature Wildlife Refuge to get checked out, just in case.
The little family passed all of their health checks, and will soon be released back into the wild.
All the mama opossum wanted to do was care for her babies, and once she realized Clifford wanted that too, she trusted her to get the job done.
“After more than 20 years, I still smile every time my phone rings with a wildlife rescue call,” Clifford wrote on Facebook. “It’s an honor to serve our native wildlife and to help give these incredible animals a second chance.”
If you’d like to help other animals in need, you can donate to Back To Nature Wildlife Refuge.