"Priscilla H. Ballou" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote:

They are very, very cute animals until one has one in the ceiling cavity
or
attacking one's fruit. At that stage murder is a good option.

When I was a kid, my grandfather had established a similar relationship
with a mama raccoon and her babies at his cabin on a lake in Michigan.
We'd sit on the back patio in the summer evening and offer bits of food
to the family, and they'd take them from our hands, the babies learning
fro their mother. Raccoon hands/paws are very interesting to touch --
leathery and dry. Excellent childhood memory. ;-)

It sounds wonderful.

Nowadays in my urban neighborhood, any "wild" animal that would allow
one that close is suspect for rabies. A family of raccoons who were
living in an abandoned house fairly near me were exterminated because
one of them was rabid (which meant all could soon become rabid). I
think that was the same family whose babies climbed all over the back of
my house and would be deterred by nothing short of my doing my "mean
schoolmarm" impression out of a second floor window. While my "mad cat"
noises brought no interest from them, that impression of a strict lady
in corset and shoes which are too tight who was referring to them as
"young man!" scared the bejeezus out of them and sent them hightailing
out of my yard.

Having Rabies aaround would certainly put a damper on having any up close
and personal dealings with wildlife.

Saw one possum once, but he was in sad shape, having apparently been
attacked by another animal. Similarly we have no skunks now, although
we did when I bought my house in 1998.

US possums are very different to those of Australia. US ones always make me
think of sticky beaks with those pointy little noses. I don't mean that in
a critical way, just that they look like they should be the gossips of the
animal kingdom.