Fingers crossed
March 3, 2008
It seems my celebration at the successful removal of the unwanted visitor in my attic was a bit premature. A few days after my supposed success, I heard the noises again. More banging on the ceiling. More screaming “DO NOT WANT!”. More trapping. I caught and released a second raccoon last week. Still the noises. Here is what I found in the trap this morning:
And I thought raccoons were ugly.
Tonight, no noises (so far).
March 4, 2008 at 5:10 pm
John, possums are just misunderstood. There used to be a cartoon, Pogo, whose lead character was an oppossum. Okay, well, they are ugly.
March 9, 2008 at 10:58 am
i was intrigued by your catch and did a little googling.
be careful: http://tinyurl.com/2sux95
From Wikipedia:
When threatened or harmed, they will “play possum”, mimicking the appearance and smell of a sick or dead animal. The lips are drawn back, teeth are bared, saliva foams around the mouth, and a foul-smelling fluid is secreted from the anal glands. The physiological response is involuntary, rather than a conscious act. Their stiff, curled form can be prodded, turned over, and even carried away. Many injured opossums have been killed by well-meaning people who find a catatonic animal and assume the worst. The best thing to do upon finding an injured or apparently dead opossum is to leave it in a quiet place with a clear exit path. In minutes or hours, the animal will regain consciousness and escape quietly on its own.
March 9, 2008 at 7:18 pm
Believe me, I am always cautious when releasing these critters. For the opossum, I had to prop open the door to the cage and get out of site before he would leave it.