Nature

Colombian Cop Rescues Opossum Tangled In Phone Cables, Catching It By The Tail Before It Falls To The Ground

This is the moment a Colombian cop rescues an opossum tangled in phone cables on top of a utility pole.

The rescue took place in the south-western Colombian department of Narino last week.

The police said the opossum was trapped in the coils of the telephone wires and had to be rescued.

An officer tries to rescue an opossum that was trapped in rolls of telephone wiring in Narino in Columbia. (@Policianacionaldeloscolombianos/Newsflash)

After climbing the utility pole and successfully untangling the marsupial, the local police then checked it for injuries and released it into the wild.

In the footage, a gloved cop is seen moving the cables to get to the small animal and grabbing it by the tail.

With the help of a colleague, the cop manages to free the opossum from the cables and still has hold of it by its tail as the video ends.

An officer rescues an opossum trapped in rolls of telephone wiring in Narino in Columbia. (@Policianacionaldeloscolombianos/Newsflash)

The National Police of Colombia said in a statement: “In Narino, officers rescued an opossum that was trapped in the coils of the telephone cables. The animal was checked and once it was confirmed to be out of danger, it was released in its natural habitat.”

The police added: “Protect wildlife.”

Endemic to the Americas, opossums are marsupials of the Didelphimorphia order, the largest order of marsupials in the Western Hemisphere.

An officer rescues an opossum trapped in rolls of telephone wiring in Narino in Columbia. (@Policianacionaldeloscolombianos/Newsflash)

Opossums originated in South America, and the only species found in the US and Canada is the Virginia opossum.

Commonly referred to as ‘possums’ in North America, they are often confused with the tree-dwelling Australasian marsupial of the suborder Phalangeriformes, called ‘possums’ due to their resemblance to the Didelphimorphia.

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