Here is an exercise in practical problem solving. I have a tough time getting the lids off our trash cans, but possums seem to have no trouble at all. It may have something to do with the relative size of our hands and fingers. A wild varmint had been toppling my trash cans each night, popping the lids and littering the ground with our trash. To keep the trash cans from being toppled, I braced them with saw horses, hoping that by keeping them upright, the trash would be safe from being scattered. Instead, I created my own low-tech live trap. This morning as you can see in the photo, I captured a possum of my very own, and a dilemma. I could feed the possum to the dog, knowing that the dog would be at greater risk of injury or mortality than the possum, or I could close the can and haul the thing to a release point miles from home and hope that this particular wily possum doesn't find its way back.
Can you imagine hauling a possum in a garbage can in the back of my Subaru? This being a possum with particular skills at popping the lid off? I am thankful for duct tape! I sealed the can with strips of tape and hauled my fuzzy friend miles from home with hopes that he finds more hospitality in forests far away.
If you look in the photo at the possum's hands you may notice that he's not a dumb critter but has thumbs and fingers similar to our own.
I feed my cats in the glass studio which has a "cat door". Every once in awhile it also becomes a "possum door". When I enter the studio the possum just looks up from the food bowl, glances at me, and goes on eating like he/she belongs there.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your possum knows how to use the door to get out.
ReplyDeleteI was about to say that we don't have animal adventures like that, but within the past few months we've had deer, coyote, wild turkey and a young male black bear within the city limits here in Buffalo. Sort of makes me watchful when I take out the trash.
ReplyDeleteMario