Possum in our backyard
by Lisa, Dan, Heather, Libby, Wing Chu
(Oshawa, Hamilton, Richmond Hill, Durham Region, Coburg, Markham)
Wing Chu from Markham wrote to tell us ..... I have friends visiting me and at 5:00 pm today all three of them spotted a cat-like "ugly" creature moving slowly in my front yard. I could not find it but I suspected it was a Possum. After showing them the picture, they confirmed it was a cat-size Possum. I never thought Possum will wander in the day time and appeared in my neighborhood.
Libby from Coburg, Ontario says ..... on Tuesday 11th March 2014 I saw a Possum walking along the back fence of my yard in Cobourg at about 10 a.m. in broad daylight. The weather was sunny and very cold. Unfortunately out of camera range but I had a good view through binoculars. The fence is a concrete one over 6 feet high that runs around the boundary of the sub-division. It has been a main "highway" for small animals avoiding deep snow this year. Mainly squirrels and chipmunks back and forth throughout the day. I was surprised to see something as large as a Possum using it.
Heather from Blackstock, Durham Region says ..... We saw our first Possum the other night at around 9:30 pm (March 23, 2014). Until then, I didn't realize they even existed in Ontario. We live in a rural village and are used to seeing Skunks and Raccoons, but not Possums. He walked up the driveway, around the house, sniffed around an area frequented by our neighbour's cats, then disappeared into the night.
A reader from Richmond Hill wrote to tell us ..... I live in Richmond Hill and this evening, a cold winter like evening, my daughter went out the front door to have a smoke. She took our small poodle out with her and curled up against the front wall of the house was a greyish animal with a rat like tail. The dog didn't react as the Possum assumed this very still position sensing the dog. She ran in and we watched from the window as it moved ever so slowly to the underside of her car. We were shocked to see such an animal in our neighbourhood.
Dan from Hamilton, Ontario, wrote to tell us about his Possum sighting, he says ..... I found a Possum living under my concrete front porch. Our house is near Limeridge Mall on Hamilton Mountain. This is the second one we have had in four years.
A reader wrote to say ..... I saw what I thought was a rat! It came back again in daylight, about 6:00 pm. I was very heavy in the hindquarters. I looked at me quite calmly and then ambled away.
Lisa from Oshawa told us ..... We have one living in our backyard. I saw it this morning when I was letting the dog out. It moved very slowly and the dog just followed it until it went into a cluster of branches and then it just sat under there and stared at us. We have a very large backyard but we live right in the downtown Oshawa area. This is the first time I have ever seen one so close-up.
Thank you so much for writing to tell us about your Possum sightings!
Who knew there were so many of these little marsupials about!
