Petting A Wild Opossum… What Could Go Wrong?
I don't quite understand why people have the urge to temporarily try to domesticate wild animals. It's like nobody learned a lesson from the self proclaimed 'Grizzly Man' when a grizzly bear consumed him. Most wild animals aren't things to be tampered with.
Do you think Disney took things a little too far in terms of making animals cute? Have we seen and shared too many viral videos of people making friends with wild animals? That video of the bowing deer in Japan is awesome, but have you also seen the video of the hunter getting rocked by the trophy buck?
I don't know if you've ever had an experience with an opossum, but they are some pretty gnarly animals. They're pretty docile for the most part, and they seem to pop up in weird places. I was walking through the garage one day and saw a pair of creepy looking feet sticking out from behind my nephews toys. Not knowing what to do, I grabbed one of those cheap grabber things and grabbed him. It wasn't bothering anything other than me, just trying to take a nap in a cool place I suppose, but it wasn't welcome in my shelves. It growled and show its teeth to me, but I know bites are really rare with opossums and usually only happen when you try to grab or pet them. Which is why the guy in the video above deserves an honorary Darwin Award.
While it worked out for him, for future reference... if there's a 50/50 chance of getting rabies, it's best to just walk away and let nature be nature.