My dog started raising hell a while ago, which is something that he'll do three or four times a day. Hardly anything escapes his notice, and especially anything out in back of the house. There's about an acre and a half of open area, then a tree line and some woods and a creek. I see plenty of deer and other stuff back there pretty frequently. I've never seen hogs back there in the 18 years we've been here, and had never seen coyotes until earlier this week (I've always known they're around, they get crocked and sing at night with some regularity). I've made up my mind that the coyotes' days are numbered...I just won't tolerate 'em. Other critters I've seen include lots of squirrels, armadillos, and the occasional fox and even a bobcat now and then.
So anyway, Rocky stated raising hell so I went to investigate. The biggest possum I ever saw was crossing the clearing and headed out of the woods and up toward the house. I figured he was probably coming this way to get under my house, and I do not approve of that. I headed out there to run him off. By the time I got out there he had gotten under my boat. Yelling and throwing a few stones at him seemed to make no impression, so I grabbed a stick and started poking at him and he came out from under the boat but was adamantly refusing to vacate the area. More pokes with the stick elicited only lots of slobbering and hissing, him facing me head-on the whole time. I think this critter was acting a little strange for a possum, displaying no fear, being out in broad daylight, slobbering all over the place, and showing NO tendency to "play possum," which is supposedly an involuntary behavior for them.
I didn't want to harm the thing but I didn't want him hanging around, either, and poking him with the stick was making no impression on him so I started bopping him lightly between the ears with the stick. The first few times he did not react much, so I whacked him just a little harder four or five times---not enough to harm him, just enough to change his attitude for the better. He finally took the hint and trotted back down into the woods about 50 yards away and disappeared.
This darned thing was about twice the size of any possum I had ever seen before. Maybe I had only seen juveniles in the past, I dunno...could be, but I'd guess he weighed about 20 pounds. His head was nearly as big as Rocky's (American Eskimo, or Spitz), and Rocky weighs about 28. According to several conflicting sources, possums do not ever or do but only very rarely contract rabies. The atypical behavior has me wondering.
I don't want to have to kill the thing, but no one or no thing stays under my house without paying rent.
I wonder just how big these damned things can get.
