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Woman Lets An Elderly Possum Stay In Her Garage, Her Nephew Posts Pic Online And It Goes Viral
“Gotta admit, that’s one ugly cat,” says a comment on a r/aww thread about an unusual lodger who has taken up residence in someone’s aunt’s garage: an opossum. Hank, as he’s affectionately called, may not have the charm of the puppies and kitties that make up most of the posts on the subreddit for all things cute, but the story’s wholesomeness has Redditors talking about why we should be thankful for opossums, which are often casually called possums in North America.
A Reddit user from Louisiana says that the old, grumpy-looking animal has been a frequent visitor at their aunt’s house for a couple of years. With winter approaching, he began sleeping in the garage, so she showed him some good old Southern hospitality and put out a blanket and snacks for him. Though Hank certainly isn’t a pet, he seems to have come to an understanding that her garage is a safe haven for him.
RELATED:
Hank is a big hit on r/aww
Opossums only live for 2-3 years, so Hank may not be around for long, but the Louisiana resident is happy to let him spend his old age somewhere where he’ll be safe from predators. And, as commenters point out, leaving opossums to do their thing is a great way to keep ticks and other dangerous pests under control. If you’re wondering how they catch so many ticks, it turns out that they just groom themselves constantly, so any tick that lands on them becomes a snack. Wildlife experts say that opossums clean up bugs, garden pests such as slugs, and rotting fruit, and even hunt venomous snakes. After doing such good service for his community, Hank deserves a comfortable retirement, don’t you think?
Scroll down for some cute opossum pics and facts about why these misunderstood animals make great neighbors and you shouldn’t bother them if you see them in your neighborhood!
Image credits: INKgear
Image credits: Land Between the Lakes
Image credits: InnerFish
Image credits: Overlordzelli
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What do you think ?
Margie S. 6 years ago
We have a possum that lives in our yard, we call him Larry. Larry is huge much larger than our Chihuahuas. Larry eats the scraps we leave out for him, he doesn't bother the Chihuahuas.
Elisavet Palazzolo 6 years ago
my sister had one she raised from a baby orphan (his momma & brothers & sisters were all squished in the street out in front of my house - it was SO sad). his name was Pistachio & he was the sweetest little guy baby ever. altho she tried to find a rescue to take him, she was unable to so we learned a lot about how to best take care of them & what to feed them. he lived about 2yrs - she rly did a great job. he was a cutie pie <3
Jacob-Becca Gizmo the Squirrel 6 years ago
We left a ladder against our house one day and we can see it from our couch through the living room window. Immediately squirrels and a raccoon and a possum started using it. (Within 24 hours). They go up and down day and night so we left it. Sometimes we open the window and put nuts on the sill and the squirrels will work all day grabbing them one by one coming down and and going back up to a hole in our attic somewhere.
Elisavet Palazzolo 6 years ago
that is pretty darn cute. you should make a bored panda article w pix for us plz!! :D
Load More Replies...
Kathy Baylis 6 years ago (edited)
I like that she provided the old gentleman with a safe place to get some much-needed rest in his dotage. We live in a house that has a couple old tumbledown chicken houses in the field behind it. Earlier this year, I noticed an old fox who dragged one back leg had apparently moved into one of the old chicken houses. That useless leg didn’t keep him from hunting mice and voles in the field, though. I have video of him pouncing and eating to his heart’s content. I decided then and there that he could live back there as long as he liked; no one would bother him. Peaceful coexistence. Haven’t seen him in a couple weeks. If he’s still alive, I hope he’s comfortable and has enough to eat. If he died, I hope he enjoyed his last few months in our back field. He was most welcome to it.
Chrissy Neibarger 6 years ago
We have a couple opposum living under our porch. Been there for a couple years. They are such a cute couple. We feed them nightly. I've been told they never stick around in one place for long but its been two years.... Love watching them on our cam.
Danielle Renee 6 years ago
i love opossums! i feed some colony cats and they all share food. it's been unusually chilly where i live so i opened my shed and made beds for the cats. i've noticed at night after the cat goes to bed, the opossum comes to eat, then i see him saunter into the shed too. i guess they've made their own family in there.
Loki 6 years ago
one time i told my family i saw one outside and my sister said "Did it hiss?" and i was like "No, it just ran away but i love him" and she said "opossums are ugly" and :-( one of my friends and i literally spend our time talking about how cute rats and opossums are and we send each other photos
Kathy Baylis 6 years ago (edited)
The only ones that have hissed at me are mothers with their babies clinging to them. Understandable that they’d be so defensive. Otherwise, if you leave them alone, they’ll leave you alone and just go about their business eating ticks and other pests.
Load More Replies...
SavySausageDog 6 years ago
I want a neighbourhood possum... they really are sweet harmless things
Margie S. 6 years ago
We have a possum that lives in our yard, we call him Larry. Larry is huge much larger than our Chihuahuas. Larry eats the scraps we leave out for him, he doesn't bother the Chihuahuas.
Elisavet Palazzolo 6 years ago
my sister had one she raised from a baby orphan (his momma & brothers & sisters were all squished in the street out in front of my house - it was SO sad). his name was Pistachio & he was the sweetest little guy baby ever. altho she tried to find a rescue to take him, she was unable to so we learned a lot about how to best take care of them & what to feed them. he lived about 2yrs - she rly did a great job. he was a cutie pie <3
Jacob-Becca Gizmo the Squirrel 6 years ago
We left a ladder against our house one day and we can see it from our couch through the living room window. Immediately squirrels and a raccoon and a possum started using it. (Within 24 hours). They go up and down day and night so we left it. Sometimes we open the window and put nuts on the sill and the squirrels will work all day grabbing them one by one coming down and and going back up to a hole in our attic somewhere.
Elisavet Palazzolo 6 years ago
that is pretty darn cute. you should make a bored panda article w pix for us plz!! :D
Load More Replies... Kathy Baylis 6 years ago (edited)
I like that she provided the old gentleman with a safe place to get some much-needed rest in his dotage. We live in a house that has a couple old tumbledown chicken houses in the field behind it. Earlier this year, I noticed an old fox who dragged one back leg had apparently moved into one of the old chicken houses. That useless leg didn’t keep him from hunting mice and voles in the field, though. I have video of him pouncing and eating to his heart’s content. I decided then and there that he could live back there as long as he liked; no one would bother him. Peaceful coexistence. Haven’t seen him in a couple weeks. If he’s still alive, I hope he’s comfortable and has enough to eat. If he died, I hope he enjoyed his last few months in our back field. He was most welcome to it.
Chrissy Neibarger 6 years ago
We have a couple opposum living under our porch. Been there for a couple years. They are such a cute couple. We feed them nightly. I've been told they never stick around in one place for long but its been two years.... Love watching them on our cam.
Danielle Renee 6 years ago
i love opossums! i feed some colony cats and they all share food. it's been unusually chilly where i live so i opened my shed and made beds for the cats. i've noticed at night after the cat goes to bed, the opossum comes to eat, then i see him saunter into the shed too. i guess they've made their own family in there.
Loki 6 years ago
one time i told my family i saw one outside and my sister said "Did it hiss?" and i was like "No, it just ran away but i love him" and she said "opossums are ugly" and :-( one of my friends and i literally spend our time talking about how cute rats and opossums are and we send each other photos
Kathy Baylis 6 years ago (edited)
The only ones that have hissed at me are mothers with their babies clinging to them. Understandable that they’d be so defensive. Otherwise, if you leave them alone, they’ll leave you alone and just go about their business eating ticks and other pests.
Load More Replies... SavySausageDog 6 years ago
I want a neighbourhood possum... they really are sweet harmless things
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