The raccoon is back! CAUGHT, scroll down

[Jerry]

One clever raccoon.  he disguised himself as an opossum, but he's not fooling me!

[Joyce]

LOL!

That is what happened to me too Jerry, caught a few imposters before I got the real deal. 

[Mikey]

My money says you catch a possum first

I should have put some money down   


I'm still having cat trouble and I forgot to close up my trap last night and of course I found a furry little possum inside this morning waiting for me to let him out.....

[perplexed ponder]

 
good one!

[miguynmkoi]

    That's funny Jerry!  So raccoons in Northridge have disguises, huh! 

After reading LeeAnnes post about the visitors to her 4 ponds I'm wondering if there may still be a raccoon shredding the lily pads in my new pond, searching for the too friendly fishies.  Better not be a 4 footed masked visitor 

[Esther]

RAH  1 culpret down and who knows how many to go.

[Joyce]

Believe me, the opossum is not the culprit who did all that damage.

Opossums are gentle creatures, and do not violently rip up barrel gardens or ponds.

Here's some enlightening facts about Opossums, especially the Diet part...opossums will rid your garden of most pests!

http://animals.jrank.org/pages/2589/New-World-Opossums-Didelphimorphia-VIRGINIA-OPOSSUM-Didelphis-virginiana-SPECIES-ACCOUNTS.html

The only point of contention is that opossums RARELy get rabies, and seem to be immune to it.
There are medical studies going on to figure out why, and if anything can be learned from the opossum and it's resistance to the rabies disease.

Even more Opossum info:
http://home.att.net/~larvalbugrex/opossum.html 

[Kat]

That possum definitely looks UNHAPPY!

[Julles]

"The only point of contention is that opossums RARELy get rabies, and seem to be immune to it."

That's why our city Animal Control will relocate opossums, but they euthanize the raccoons.  One reason, anyway.  Because opossums can adjust to a new home, but raccoons cannot, and raccoons are also suscpetable to diseases in a new environment, that they don't have immunity to.  They also transport diseases to the new place, endangering the natural inhabitants.

[Jerry]

He trotted off happily as soon as the door was open  Did you know that Opossums are the only American marsupial?

[Kittyzee]

Yes, Jerry isn't that so cool.  Poor little thing looks so miserable!  And I'm with Joyce, it did NOT do the damage to your pond, but you'll find out soon enough when you re-bait your trap     

[Jerry]

LuAnn the footprints were from a raccoon.  Never suspected a possum.  They are beneficial!
Taste good too.

[cc]

How troublesome and exciting at the same time to have all these wild life come to your ponds. The only wild life that interest in my pond are ants, birds, bees, dragonflies and me 

[SueSTx]

I've not even seen a 'possum around here before although I have seen a armadillo once or twice.  The coons stay out in the corn fields this time of year.

KNOCK on wood...I've never had any damage from 4 legged visitors in the 6 + years of my tanks.  Maybe because living in a rural community there is plenty of natural foods for them.  Living is a very dry area...they aren't familiar with fish either.

[LeeAnne151]

Joyce is right. You may have caught an opossum but there is no way he did the damage.