When an opossum isn’t just “playing possum,” Amelie Dricut-Ziter, who runs the Leyden Center for Wildlife Rehabilitation, is there to help. 

At her home in Leyden, Dricut-Ziter has created space for injured or sick wildlife. Some are animals that people bring to her, others are animals that she personally finds. Both large and small critters alike have a temporary safe haven as they are taken care of and eventually released back into the wild. 

Dricut-Ziters’ interest in wildlife rehabilitation was sparked in 2013 when she lived in eastern Massachusetts. While driving to work, she discovered a dead opossum in the road with babies who were alive and still attached to the mother. 

“I stopped, I picked up the babies and then I tried to figure out what to do with them,” Dricut-Ziter recalls. She found the New England Wildlife Center, a non-profit wildlife rehabilitation center, where she dropped off the baby opossums, and picked up a new passion.

“I discovered the world of wildlife rehabilitation all of a sudden I decided, ‘Okay, I want to do this,’” Dricut-Ziter said. 

To get started, Dricut-Ziter explained that becoming a wildlife rehabilitator is not an overnight process. She took online classes, then a Massachusetts state exam through the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife to get her license. Once she received her license, she began practicing her wildlife rehabilitation in her basement before moving to Leyden in 2019, where she currently lives and works. 

Right now, Dricut-Ziter is capable of handling a variety of wildlife, excluding animals like bears, coyotes, deer, cats and birds. Six raccoons, two squirrels, a young opossum and a vole currently live in her care, but she can have anywhere up to 50 animals at a time, especially during busy seasons. 

“It gets busy in spring season, when you have all the babies,” Dricut-Ziter said. Between April and July, the baby animals will require bottle feeding and consistent care that she can provide as she works from home. 

Although she has the time and resources, Dricut-Ziter is aware of the reality of some of the animals she takes in. As her goal is to release them back into the wild after they are done in her care, she has to be selective about which animals can be rehabilitated, and others that will need to be euthanized. 

The knowledge that not every animal can be saved is a lesson Dricot-Ziter said she’s learned over her years of experience. In the busiest spring months, she says it’s easier to make the tough decisions knowing a more critical animal may come in to her care, but in the winter when there is more space, she has to be more guided in her approach. 

“I think that’s the lesson that I’ve learned over the years, I spend sometimes months on an animal that I think [now] should have been euthanized much earlier, just because I didn’t want it to give up,” Dricot-Ziter said. 

If an animal with a neurological injury is in her care, and has been checked by her partnered vet clinic for rabies or distemper, then she can monitor for improvement over a few weeks to see how they fare. If there is a lack of improvement or decline, she will take them back to the vet for further assessment. 

“So I’m trying to put [in] those rules and timeline to not spend too much time and be heartbroken,” Dricot-Ziter said. 

These guidelines are how she says she’s still able to care for the animals while also protecting herself from heartbreak when a difficult choice has to be made for the animal’s sake. 

Having worked now in animal rehabilitation for a little more than a decade, Dricot-Ziter has seen her fair-share of critters.

Most recently, Dricot-Ziter transferred a baby bobcat who was injured to Tufts Wildlife Clinic after Animal Control Officers Kyle Dragon and Heather Sonn were called by the Gill Police Department to help the baby bobcat that resident Pamela Lester came across on West Gill Road.

In a Facebook post from Nov. 17, Dricot-Ziter said the ACOs brought it to the South Deerfield Veterinary Clinic for evaluation, and she transported the baby bobcat to the Tufts Wildlife Clinic for treatment on its injured leg. She now holds a back-up bobcat license with the Berkshire Wildlife Services, but recommends these animals go to this location first before going to her directly. 

In situations when the public see’s injured wildlife, Dricot-Ziter provided some pointers. Reaching out directly to a wildlife rehab to assess the need of the animal is a good first step, while not interacting with it. If the animal is aggressive, she says to make contact with the local ACO who can assist in safely interacting with the animal. If someone can’t call for help and the animal is not behaving aggressively, she said picking up the animal with thick gloves and a towel and placing it into a box to be transported to a vet is an option as well. 

Becoming a wildlife rehabilitator is another option for those seeking to help the wildlife in their community. Her biggest recommendation for those starting is to start small, and build from there. Additionally, connecting with other rehabilitators in the area and creating a good relationship with them is important, along with having space and funding available to properly take care of the animals. 

Although the job can be difficult and time consuming, Dricot-Ziter finds joy in rehabilitation. 

“This is my passion. This is what I've always wanted to do,” Dricort-Ziter said. “It gives you a really good feeling when you actually release an animal that you’ve been rehabbing.”

To find a local wildlife rehabilitator, visit the link https://www.mass.gov/info-details/find-a-wildlife-rehabilitator. An Amazon Wishlist is available for the Leyden Center for Wildlife Rehabilitation at https://tinyurl.com/3fwkmyr3. 

Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.