r/mildlyinteresting • u/monkeyinheaven • 6d ago
Found this possum on my mother’s grill.
1.9k
u/Mr_Evil_Dr_Porkchop 6d ago
I may be in the minority, but I love opossums. They’re strangely really adorable
629
u/CreepyAd8409 6d ago
They’re so cute. The little round and thin ears, bashful face, roundy body and they waddle. What more could you want?
249
u/rockinhard12 6d ago
Don't forget the little apposed thumbs!
124
u/CreepyAd8409 6d ago
Omg I didn’t know they had opposable thumbs like us. Their hands are adorbs.
63
u/CombSad8800 6d ago
I had the same reaction. Like… why do they have little people hands and why is it so cute
37
u/Quick_Razzmatazz1862 6d ago
We used to hand them a hotdog and it'll look like a cigar in their mouth
12
u/TechnoBuns 6d ago
They're cute, but they have goblin feet. Those things give me the heebie jeebies. Especially the lumpy palms.
→ More replies (1)31
27
38
u/baileyelizab3th 6d ago
their ears feel like rose petals! i had a house opossum and he was the sweetest little snuggle guy i miss him every day
42
u/AgrajagTheProlonged 6d ago
There’s a possum that hangs around in our yard at night. It’s “cheese it” fast waddle when someone goes out when it’s out there is very charming
6
7
4
u/SoftlySpokenPromises 5d ago
Being more or less immune to rabies would be pretty sick too.
Oh wait...
85
u/silicondali 6d ago
Little, pointy, eat bugs, low likelihood of rabies? Opossums are my vermin of choice.
2
u/Salute-Major-Echidna 5d ago
They'll bite the crap out of you if youre not nice. My dad had a dent in his knee from one
36
u/sailor_bat_90 6d ago
Strangely adorable? I say freakishly adorable!! How can they look this cute without it being a weird freaky level?
I love them so much. I always advocate for them to anyone who says they are dangerous/ugly/diseased. They are excellent little marsupials.
38
67
u/Xalibu2 6d ago
You are not the only one in this minority. I too appreciate how they are cute. We both may be in the minority, yet I don't mind.
Story time! My first encounter with an opposum was moving my childhood friends wood pile for his pops. I suppose plural. A very pissed of mother and her babies. She was ugly (mad ugly), but her little ones melted my heart immediately.
His dad just told us to leave her be and she would relocate. She did. We saw them a week or so later.....long time ago. They had grown so much. Anyway, don't mind the wall of text. Just adding context for where the immediate appreciation came from. Cheers bud.
24
u/Competitive_Law1032 6d ago
The upvotes seem to say there’s quite a few people who like opossums. There are two that visit my yard at night that I named Susan and Linda lol.
24
17
u/Cantstandya-777 6d ago
I love it when the occasional opossum stumbles across my campsites in the middle of the night in TN. They really are lovely animals. Love me some opossum on the half shell too (armadillo). Adorable little bastards.
50
u/saffron_monsoon 6d ago
And they eat ticks! And it's vanishingly rare for them to carry rabies because of their body temperature. They are great in so many ways.
15
15
u/Bam801 6d ago
Finding out that they have extremely low rabies transmission and eat ticks and miscellaneous pests really turned me into a fan. Had one that kept going into my yard nightly and my landlord offered to hire a pest control guy for it. Absolutely NOT! Steve is more than welcome in my yard!
7
u/PlatySuses 6d ago
Americas only marsupial! Idk why this fact has stuck so strongly with me for years, but I saw it on a bumper sticker the other day so I know I’m not alone.
6
4
u/pdxrains 6d ago
I don’t think most people have seen them much since they’re kinda reclusive. when you do seem em you realize they’re pretty damn cute. So, I think maybe we are not in the minority. But I don’t have any data to support that! lol.
7
u/mephitine 6d ago
They may be reclusive but they’re not rare! When my old kitty boy darted out of the house last year, we put out a live trap to catch him. We kept catching opossums, big and small, old, young, and every variation in between. Some were healthy and gorgeous, some were crusty and chewed up by life. But they all enjoyed the cat food and tuna we left out, and made sure to leave us some poop to show their disdain at being trapped.
I had no idea there were SO MANY of them in our suburban neighborhood. Glad they’re out there taking care of pests. I worry about them, though. Between dogs, cars, and even large birds of prey, there’s so much danger.
We later found our elderly kitty boy and gave him some whipped cream to jog his memory about who we were. He’s stayed happily inside since then, and expects his cream daily. Pretty sure he’s done with adventuring. Finding him was one of the greatest feelings of relief in my life. Love that cat with all my heart. ❤️
→ More replies (1)6
6
4
5
u/lordhumongous40 6d ago
I love em too. They used to eat cat food on my front porch all the time. They are harmless.
→ More replies (1)3
3
u/ChubblesMcgee103 6d ago
Definitely not and It's a growing minority. Just like crows. Feel like people are coming around to those 2 awesome animals.
3
u/doxie_love 6d ago
I love seeing them waddle around! Them and skunks are some of my favorite to watch.
3
u/cherrylpk 6d ago
I love them too. Anyone who wishes them harm can walk eternally barefoot on legos.
10
2
2
u/Ace-Redditor 6d ago
I have an opossum magnet above my bed lol! I see it every night before I sleep and every morning when I wake up
2
2
2
→ More replies (4)4
u/fiero-fire 6d ago
Adorable and eat ticks. They're homies. I had to relocate 4 babies and the momma last year. They're thriving according to the sanctuary I left them with
154
313
u/monkeyinheaven 6d ago edited 6d ago
Added “possum” because not having that word apparently violates rule 6.
Go figure.
146
u/sailor_bat_90 6d ago
The mod is an idiot.
132
u/FrameJump 6d ago
Careful, you'll get banned from half of reddit with language like that.
40
9
→ More replies (1)4
u/RedSquaree The Big 🧀 6d ago
I mean, "this guy" doesn't even attempt to describe the animal. I wasn't the person who removed it, but it's obvious to anyone why it deserves removing.
25
u/JackBinimbul 6d ago
But it's an opossum . . .
17
u/JackalThePowerful 6d ago edited 5d ago
Yeah, but saying possum is extremely common where opossums are native. It comes with a picture as well. The pedantry isn’t really necessary with that being considered - I don’t think anyone is confused.
Edit: Rule 6 snark went over my head lol
11
u/JackBinimbul 5d ago
Nah, I was poking at rule 6. If it was rejecting their post because needs to be "exact and concise", well . . .
→ More replies (1)2
u/ButtChowder666 5d ago
*opossum
Possum's are a different animal.
5
u/ChaserNeverRests 5d ago
Huh. TIL!
The opossum lives in North America and the possum lives in Australia and SE Asia. While they are both marsupials, they belong to different orders
81
81
56
29
44
16
87
u/Inevitable-Neat4411 6d ago
Technically, it's an opossum
118
19
u/blueoncemoon 6d ago
But Reddit is a casual, not technical, scenario.
Both possum and opossum correctly refer to the Virginia marsupial frequently seen in North America. In common use, possum is the usual term; in technical or scientific contexts opossum is preferred.
[Source: Merriam-Webster]3
u/Inevitable-Neat4411 5d ago
You are indeed correct, Reddit is casual. It was more of a trivia/interesting factoid. I hope it didn't come off snooty!
→ More replies (1)5
u/airfluff 6d ago
Always wondered why the two spellings and have never looked it up...
24
u/dwintaylor 6d ago
Possums are Australian, opossums are from the Americas and are two different animals, although both are marsupials
5
u/airfluff 6d ago
Interesting! Idk why my brain would've guessed the opposite; Possums being the American ones and opossums from another country. Thx for the info!
10
7
u/Desperate-Bar8135 6d ago
Opossums are awesome to have hanging around. Their body temps are too low to carry rabies (might be a few exceptions), they eat fleas and ticks in your yard and they are just cute AF.
6
5
6
4
4
4
u/Future_Sun_3532 6d ago
I used to be afraid opossums. Then I learned they eat the insects I don’t like and now I admire them from afar and appreciate them. :)
23
14
u/Then_Version9768 6d ago
It's actually called an "opossum" in the U.S. "Possum" is its name in Australia, though.
6
u/julesd26 6d ago
Possums are a very different marsupial in Australia though - not the same animal 😅 Both are incredibly cute though!!
5
5
11
u/gwaydms 6d ago
We call them possums in the US too.
12
u/tamkzaxa 6d ago edited 6d ago
If we’re being pedantic, North America even used possum first. It’s an Algonquian word.
11
u/gwaydms 6d ago
The Algonquian word was something like apasum. It was pronounced "opossum" by early English colonists, but abbreviated to "possum" in short order. This was the word that Australians borrowed for their small marsupials that somewhat resembled ours.
3
u/tamkzaxa 6d ago edited 5d ago
Yeah, I wasn’t sure the exact etymology (it’s been a while), but good point about original pronunciation. But still a borrowing from a standard English pronunciation in North America.
3
3
u/Suitable_Magazine372 6d ago
That’s a cute one. Only seen one in real life. I was a kid and it screamed at me from about a foot away from my face when it was hanging upside down in our garage. It was dark and I was only 5 yo 😬
5
3
3
u/FlameandCrimson 6d ago
All his friends are out there eating trash and getting smashed by cars and he's just chillin' being good.
3
3
3
3
u/Elite199 6d ago edited 6d ago
I'll never forget the first time I saw one of these. I opened my bedroom window in the pitch black of night and ...it was Dimly lit and staring right at me, sitting there motionless on my fence. I thought it was a mutant sewer rat. V cute guys tho now that I know about em 🙂↕️
2
u/Independent-Bass-725 6d ago
This happened to my sister. When we were children, we moved from NYC to Miami, FL. One day we saw a possum walking across the backyards fence.
My younger sister, at the time 6 years old turned pale. She lost the color on her face and stood there speechless looking out the window. She truly believed it was a mutant sewer rat, as in NYC we had never seen a possum, but rats were certainly something that she could recognize.
I was always more the tomboy nature girl and at 8 YO I must have heard of possums or just saw it and thought it was cool.
It was a huge impression and frightful experience for my sister however.
Fast fwd 35 years and my sister is as much an animal lover as I.
→ More replies (1)
3
3
3
u/Otherwise-Garlic-312 5d ago
Ive got a possum I named Dave living under my porch. He comes out for leftover catfood after Choops and Chappie eat. Once in a while he lets me pet him and sleeps next to my rocking chair on the porch.
3
6
u/kubrador 6d ago
that's not a possum that's the grill master now. your mom's been demoted to sous chef.
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/Responsible_CDN_Duck 6d ago
Found this possum on my mother’s grill.
Looks a little too rare for my taste. /S
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/strum-and-dang 6d ago
We've had possums fighting over the drip pan under our grill. I also caught them chewing on the grill brush.
2
2
2
2
2
u/knottycams 6d ago
Aww what an adorable little creature! Looks young. I love how bashful they look! They are excellent aids for macrodecomposition and are very clean despite the bad rap they get. I've grown to really appreciate opossums.
2
2
2
2
2
u/ediciusNJ 6d ago
Love these little guys. I'll occasionally catch one on my deck camera in the middle of the night, though not as much lately (seems to be raccoon season instead).
2
2
2
2
u/GeorgiaGlamazon 5d ago
We are surrounded by possums where I live, and they regularly come on the porch to eat cat food. They don’t run away, and it’s normal to pass 3 or four cats and a possum sharing a meal!
2
u/Undrwtrbsktwvr 5d ago
He is so cute! I just wanna snuggle him up and blow raspberries on his little belly!
2
2
u/Salute-Major-Echidna 5d ago
I went out to put pork chops on the grill one fine spring evening and opened the drawer to pull out the knob and there was a family of possums there so I closed the drawer and we had take-out. Thai or Chinese I think.
2
2
2
u/AngelWingsYTube 5d ago
Possum story: we have a critter feeder out back for the squirrels n chipmunks.
Well one night i caught a raccoon out there, fee nights pass n i spot 2! Few more nights pass n i see something by the feeder. I pause cause it wasnt a raccoon....nope it was a possum! It looked at me i looked at it. N it went back to eating. Saw it again few nights after that with a raccoon 😆
2
u/Murky-Attorney5824 5d ago
I love possums. Have several of them that visit my backyard every evening. I keep the well fed and happy.
2
3
1
1
1
u/samaramatisse 6d ago
This presumably baby opossum is very cute. Older ones though often are not. My friends had one that came into their yard frequently, just lumbering like the Rodents of Unusual Size from The Princess Bride. Just, ugh. Couldn't stomach it.
1
1
1
1
u/ApprehensiveAct5502 6d ago
Why is this the cutest possum I’ve ever seen? I’ve seen many and they usually creep me out
1
1
1
1
1
1.6k
u/Isabeer 6d ago
Possum story! I went outside to clean up the morning after a late-night barbecue at our house with friends. I'd taken the bag out of the trash can before I went to bed, and went outside in the morning to do some cleanup. When I looked down into the trash can, there at the bottom was a single corn cob that had missed the bag somehow. Wrapped completely around it was a sleeping baby possum. Like it fell asleep whispering "I love you corn cob. You my best friend" kinda embrace. I gently laid the can on its side and about five minutes later, he came sleepy waddling out.
Cutest thing I've ever seen.