I've had so many possum encounters, and I also have a major soft spot for them. They always look so sad to me. Perhaps they know they're misunderstood. We got to meet a one-eyed rescue possum a couple years ago, and we, too, were very taken with the softness and cuddliness.
We had loads in our backyard in California (which I loved until one snuggled in under our house and sent fleas springing up through the floorboards), and we have a ton around here in SC, too. We had one dig its way under the house here a few years ago, but thankfully no fleas that time. Unfortunately that one perished -- got caught in some pipes or wires -- and the smell was how we realized.
We have one that wanders through our yard most nights and rummages through our compost bucket, despite the prevalence of coffee grounds. Items she likes include acorn squash rinds, sweet potato shells and avocado pits. I've taken to putting these items on a little plate so I don't have to clean up after her. Also, I read last night that opossums aren't built for the kinds of winters we have here in Indiana. Wildlife experts can estimate the age of an opossum by the amount of frostbite they have endured.
We have tons of possums in Nashville. In fact, one lived in our basement for an entire winter. The house was completely infested with fleas -- we kept bombing the house and then they'd come back. We had no idea what was going on . . . until we saw a big poop by our sump pump in the basement. We called in a critter guy ("All Paws"), and when he went into our basement, he found a giant dead possum in the middle of the floor. It was his time. Since then, we've memorialized our possum in many different ways. Our dog's favorite chew toy is a possum....
We put food out for the neighborhood feral cats (who now sleep under our house in a cat house we put out for them). A few years ago, we had an opossum who would sneak over to eat the cat food if we left it out after dark. I startled it a couple of times and it bolted. I was not very sympathetic to it the first time I saw it, but then I read more about them and their positive contributions to pest control, and that they are largely resistant to rabies and other diseases. After that, I never saw it again. :-( I hope it moved away to someplace less urban and more bucolic.
From Alex in San Diego:
Opossums make my number one favorite animal tracks:
https://www.bear-tracker.com/opossum.html
Opossum pushes a skunk into a pond:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_tL5R8lIL0&feature=emb_logo
From Zsofia in South Carolina:
I've had so many possum encounters, and I also have a major soft spot for them. They always look so sad to me. Perhaps they know they're misunderstood. We got to meet a one-eyed rescue possum a couple years ago, and we, too, were very taken with the softness and cuddliness.
We had loads in our backyard in California (which I loved until one snuggled in under our house and sent fleas springing up through the floorboards), and we have a ton around here in SC, too. We had one dig its way under the house here a few years ago, but thankfully no fleas that time. Unfortunately that one perished -- got caught in some pipes or wires -- and the smell was how we realized.
From Tom in Indianapolis:
We have one that wanders through our yard most nights and rummages through our compost bucket, despite the prevalence of coffee grounds. Items she likes include acorn squash rinds, sweet potato shells and avocado pits. I've taken to putting these items on a little plate so I don't have to clean up after her. Also, I read last night that opossums aren't built for the kinds of winters we have here in Indiana. Wildlife experts can estimate the age of an opossum by the amount of frostbite they have endured.
From Dan in Nashville:
We have tons of possums in Nashville. In fact, one lived in our basement for an entire winter. The house was completely infested with fleas -- we kept bombing the house and then they'd come back. We had no idea what was going on . . . until we saw a big poop by our sump pump in the basement. We called in a critter guy ("All Paws"), and when he went into our basement, he found a giant dead possum in the middle of the floor. It was his time. Since then, we've memorialized our possum in many different ways. Our dog's favorite chew toy is a possum....
From Louise in Washington DC:
We put food out for the neighborhood feral cats (who now sleep under our house in a cat house we put out for them). A few years ago, we had an opossum who would sneak over to eat the cat food if we left it out after dark. I startled it a couple of times and it bolted. I was not very sympathetic to it the first time I saw it, but then I read more about them and their positive contributions to pest control, and that they are largely resistant to rabies and other diseases. After that, I never saw it again. :-( I hope it moved away to someplace less urban and more bucolic.
Sometimes I want to be smaller than a Lego...
:)