Some weird looking beasts there.

Post #375,547 by Another Scott 5/28/13 11:29:40 PM Reply	Some weird looking beasts there. Neat stuff. I noticed a missing closed-parenthesis in your 3rd to last paragraph, and it looks like you need to update the version number postscript. Otherwise, it looks great. :-) Thanks. Cheers, Scott. (Who discovered yesterday he has a groundhog living under his deck...)
Post #375,549 by malraux 5/28/13 11:46:54 PM Reply	We have cats and raccoons under our deck. Groundhogs know better. Regards, -scott Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson.
Post #375,632 by Another Scott 5/30/13 9:29:30 PM Reply	We had some opossums a few years ago. A professional trapper caught one, and I think a raccoon the next day or two. (Another opossum got stuck in a downspout drain pipe - wasn't too bright...) I was under the impression that they were taken and released somewhere. Little did I know... http://www.dgif.virg...blems/groundhogs/ It is illegal in the State of Virginia to trap and relocate an animal to another area. That makes sense to minimize the spread of diseases, I guess, but crap. I'll do some looking around this weekend and see if there's some way to encourage it to leave or something. (The neighbors probably wouldn't like that though...) :-( There's been a family of groundhogs living in a yard at work for 2-3 years or so. They have some burroughs near one of the buildings, and in a hillside, but they don't bother anyone, and the yard damage hasn't increased over the years. That's probably not an option here as I heard one of the neighbor's garden is being eaten. :-( <sigh> Cheers, Scott.
Post #375,634 by Andrew Grygus 5/30/13 9:54:56 PM Reply	"It is illegal to be a possum in the state of California" according to the state's guy in charge of possums. They are considered illegal aliens and less welcome here than the human kind (who do useful work). When a Wall Street Journal reporter asked the possum guy, "Possums aren't real smart, are they?", his reply was "Possums are working with about 1/3 of deck". When the reporter asked him "What do possums eat?", the reply was, "Anything that doesn't eat back faster". Yes, if you trap a possum here, or one of the fox squirrels we are infested with, it is illegal to release them anywhere in the state of California.
Post #375,636 by Another Scott 5/30/13 10:07:05 PM Reply	Yeah, it's understandable, but still disconcerting. A neighbor down the street has an "Audubon at Home" yard. http://www.audubonva...n-at-home-v15-121 She must have had similar issues over the years (her house is just off the creek). I sent her a note asking for pointers and advice. We'll see what she says. There's a red fox that I have often seen running across the street maybe 50 feet from our front door on weekend mornings. Maybe I just need to leave the gate open more often... I'm really torn about this. I don't think the groundhog is enough of a nuisance that it needs to be killed (especially since others will eventually follow). If we want to live in nature then we need to accept the good with the bad. I don't mind a couple of holes in the yard, and our dog Sophie doesn't seem upset by it (thus far anyway). I don't know how the neighbors will react if I don't try to get rid of it though... :-/ Cheers, Scott.
Post #375,638 by static 5/30/13 11:08:48 PM Reply	Would never have considered a possum stupid. Maybe Aussie possums are smarter. They can be pests here, but it's not that hard to chase them away. The biggest problem is that they fight: with each other and with anything their size that challenges them. Cats tend to come off second best if the cat is stupid enough to take on a possum, but I've heard fruit bats take them on. It's not illegal to catch and release them into the bush; it's probably illegal to kill them, though! Wade. Just Add Story http://justaddstory.wordpress.com/
Post #375,643 by Andrew Grygus 5/31/13 2:35:15 AM Reply	Australian possums are totally different. Our possums came from South America when Panama became a land bridge. Marsupials were extinct in North America. You can't chase our possums away because they are too stupid. Many years ago I caught one in my pigeon coop and gave it a sound thrashing to teach it not to be there. It was back in less than 15 minutes. Since then I've fought any number of them with my Swiss army knife (it's 24 inches long, so it gives me a decent stand-off distance). They're ferocious, and they're tough - like a half inflated football with some chicken bones inside - and I tell you, they're too stupid even to realize that they're dead.
Post #375,644 by static 5/31/13 6:30:54 AM Reply	Yep. Totally different. Ours are afraid of people. And doing something like turning the hose on them means they probably won't come back for 24 hours. I see what you mean about "really dumb"! Wade. Just Add Story http://justaddstory.wordpress.com/
Post #375,651 by crazy 5/31/13 10:02:51 AM Reply	This girl is about to need you http://bunkstrutts.f...011/03/possum.jpg
Post #375,712 by static 5/31/13 5:09:47 PM Reply	I always wondered why they were called "opossum". Now I know: they really are a different beast. You just need to compare a picture and it's obvious. The Aussie possum has a much shorter snout than the US opoossum. Wade. Just Add Story http://justaddstory.wordpress.com/
Post #375,715 by Andrew Grygus 5/31/13 6:09:09 PM Reply	They also have a long naked tail like a rat . . . . . and their fur isn't nice and plush either - but I don't recall ever hearing anyone call one an "opossum" - it's just "possum" except sometimes in print.
Post #375,716 by Andrew Grygus 5/31/13 6:32:24 PM Reply	Note also that the Australian and American "possums" . . . . . differ at the order level, so they are related only very distantly.
Post #375,653 by malraux 5/31/13 10:14:49 AM Reply	I've chased them with a pitchfork Well, more like poked. They're impossible to herd, even with pain. Wide open garage door, angry dude with pitchfork, and the possum was more interested in hissing and hunkering behind the lawn mower than running for obvious freedom 2 feet away. Regards, -scott Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson.
Post #375,665 by drook 5/31/13 10:50:16 AM Reply	My father-in-law beat one with a broomstick He started by trying to shoo it away. It barely looked up from eating his garden. Then he tried poking. No joy. Eventually he was going after it like it was a piñata. It only left when he kept hitting the head and it couldn't get a bite of what it was after. -- Drew
Post #375,721 by Another Scott 5/31/13 8:07:03 PM Reply	They're strange animals. They've been around 70M years or so, so they must be doing something right, but still.. http://en.wikipedia..../Virginia_opossum The Virginia opossum is noted for reacting to threats by feigning death. This is the genesis of the term "playing possum", which means pretending to be dead or injured with intent to deceive. In the case of the opossum, the reaction seems to be involuntary, and to be triggered by extreme fear. It should not be taken as an indication of docility, for under serious threat, an opossum will respond ferociously, hissing, screeching, and showing its teeth. But with enough stimulation, the opossum will enter a near coma, which can last up to four hours. It lies on its side, mouth and eyes open, tongue hanging out, emitting a green fluid from its anus whose putrid odor repels predators. Besides discouraging animals that eat live prey, playing possum also convinces some large animals that the opossum is no threat to their young. <insert joke here> Cheers, Scott.
Post #375,723 by Andrew Grygus 5/31/13 9:17:25 PM Reply	Well, I sure haven't ever seen one do that.
Post #375,726 by Another Scott 5/31/13 10:04:06 PM Reply	Me neither. Here's one that's close - https://www.youtube....tch?v=MZ8vdNtf4y4 (2:19) No stink bombs though. Cheers, Scott.
Post #375,825 by crazy 6/3/13 10:20:17 AM Reply	Wheeeee https://www.youtube....tch?v=fL4chFeOO-8
Post #375,828 by malraux 6/3/13 10:48:19 AM Reply	Dumb as a soapdish Regards, -scott Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson.
Post #375,831 by drook 6/3/13 11:08:12 AM Reply	But not as foamy ... you hope -- Drew
Post #375,881 by Another Scott 6/3/13 7:42:30 PM Reply	Surprise ending. :-)
Post #375,675 by a6l6e6x 5/31/13 11:37:47 AM Reply	Well, you could always eat them! http://www.hillbilly...nd-cook-a-possum/ NC Mountain folks are known for it. :) Alex
Post #375,679 by Andrew Grygus 5/31/13 12:27:53 PM Reply	Those things are so ugly NOTHING wants to eat them.
Post #375,680 by boxley 5/31/13 12:47:34 PM Reply	taste like squirrel Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free American and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 58 years. meep
Post #375,704 by Andrew Grygus 5/31/13 3:39:58 PM Reply	If I ever make Brunswick stew . . . . . I'm going to want real squirrels - they're a lot more annoying than the possums.
Post #375,645 by hnick 5/31/13 7:18:36 AM Reply	Try mothballs We've used them successfully for skunks and racoons. We haven't had possums or elephants either, so it may work for them as well...
Post #375,646 by Another Scott 5/31/13 7:21:05 AM Reply	:-) Thanks.
Post #375,655 by malraux 5/31/13 10:16:24 AM Reply	Just throw them under the deck? That's an idea... thanks. Regards, -scott Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson.
Post #375,660 by hnick 5/31/13 10:35:35 AM Reply	That's what we did. Out at the cottage, something burrowed under the shed. We tossed a handful of mothballs down the burrow and it has been apparently unoccupied ever since. We also just scattered them behind the garage where they liked to nest and they went away.

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