Grubby (opossum)

Grubby is an opossum that traveled from somewhere in Washington State to Homer, Alaska in a shipping container and eluded authorities for over a month, delivering a litter of joeys in the process. Opossums are considered an invasive species in Alaska.^[1]

Grubby was first spotted in Homer in a shipping container delivered to the local Spenard Builders Supply store in the spring of 2023. Store employees were unsure what to do with an opossum, so they contacted the local animal shelter. The shelter in turn contacted the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) that advised the shelter to attempt to trap the animal and provide it to them. The shelter did manage to trap the opossum, but it subsequently escaped and was on the loose in central Homer for several weeks before being spotted by local police outside their station on Grubstake Avenue, inspiring the name "Grubby". When it became public knowledge that there was an opossum loose in Homer, the animal became a local topic of debate, with some favoring trapping and destroying the opossum while others showed enthusiastic support for saving Grubby, or even electing Grubby as mayor.^[1] Some local businesses offered opossum-themed sales and a "Free Grubby" hashtag trended on local social media groups.^[2]

In May 2023, a Homer police officer did manage to trap Grubby, and due to the public interest in the matter, she was handed over to the Alaska Zoo to reside in their invasive species collection instead of being euthanized.^[3][4][5][6]

Shortly after Grubby's relocation to the Alaska Zoo, there were more opossum sightings in Homer, and it became clear that Grubby had given birth to a litter of joeys, leading to a much more intensive trapping operation in Homer by ADF&G. Residents were advised to keep pets indoors while live trapping was taking place.^[7] By June fifth, three joeys had been captured, but with opossums having an average litter size of nine to thirteen joeys, biologists continued trapping efforts.^[8][9][10] On June thirteenth, five joeys had been captured, but local ADF&G biologist Josh Herriman stated, "No matter what, unless we catch 13 of 'em, I wouldn't ever really be comfortable to say we got them all."^[11] One of the offspring, nicknamed "Homer" was later relocated to the Oregon Zoo in December of 2023.^[12]