One morning in late July,I saw that the garage was a bit messed up,with snow shovels on the floor and dry leaves scattered about.It must have been a cat fooling around,I thought.When I opened the car hood,I saw what it really was that had caused the ruckus:an opossum,North America's only marsupial,or pouched mammal.This unique animal even appears in a current TV commercial.
My opossum was lying still on her side on a big nest made of dry leaves and bits of plastic.She was "playing possum" with me,pretending to be dead.The nest was right up against the battery.She was actually a young opossum,born in the spring.I put some work gloves on and lifted her up.She hissed at me and bit me lightly with her many small teeth.I put her back down,fearing rabies.
I called Animal Control for assistance.Meantime,the animal had gotten deep within the engine.An animal control officer responded within an hour and poked her with a plastic baton.This indeed dislodged her.She ambled away across the drive,headed for a pine plantation.My guest the garage opossum hasn't been back since,convinced that engines are really no place for an arboreal mammal.
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