More shots of our rather tame, wild neighbor.
S/he may have been trying to reach the safety of the area under the heat pump -- but the dogs caught on, and "treed" it on the fence. I worried about rabies, but it seemed healthy.
I’m torn, really — are they cute, or really ugly?
Walt Kelly would have been pleased at its familiarity with the idea of a mugwump, as it demonstrates, here.
The hairless, "rat" tail is one of the least attractive features. How much cuter would it be with a furry tail?
He does have a very cute, pink nose, however. You could get used to dealing with these little guys.
mmm. them’s good eatin’
possum with a furry tail
http://justbaustralia.com.au/news/news-on-toast-the-mysterious-case-of-the-pastry-eating-possum-9498/
Aside from the rat-like tail, they have a resemblance — body, face, eyes — to Pomeranian dogs, who are among the cutest of all (we have two Poms). We have a few opossums here and there on our property and of course they are mainly nocturnal.
There has only been ONE documented case of rabies in possums.
They have an extremely high immunity to it. On the other hand, and it may possibly be a factor is the close-to-free-or-ever-having -rabies, possums can contract leprosy. We can thank the little possums for their contribution to treatment for the disease, not that they exactly stood in line to volunteer as possum guinea pigs.
And I wouldn’t worry about catching that from them either. They just look scruffy.
Teeth are definitely NOT cute. Have you ever seen a possum eat?
And I don’t know why they all look cross-eyed.
That said, I’ll be working with our possum at the zoo this week, taking her out on an education outreach program. While they just don’t seem to have the same “cute factor” as other marsupials, I do adore them.
And these are some fun photos you’ve been putting up of your wild neighbor!
Face is cute. Claws are not. Tail… I am undecided.