Opossum: No Trespassing? Visitors Welcome?
A 16” tubular form jutting out of the chickens’ egg-laying chamber was the first sign that this evening was going to contain some unwelcome excitement. Animal intruders have an uncanny sense of opportunity, appearing only when I am particularly pressured for time and alone on the homestead.
Cautiously, I approached the trespasser who must have visited frequently since the chickens were calmly roosting in their places, indicating there was nothing unusual about this evening except for the fact that the offender was caught gorging on the day's entire production of eggs.
The tail in this tale belonged to an opossum. All I could see was its butt which revealed that this critter was more than just plump. It bordered on obese.
My first priority was to remove the opossum from the premises, which is why I went to retrieve the top of a metal garbage can. First I used it as a shield against a possible attack which was not necessary. It was “playing possum.” Still, this animal’s absolute calm was disconcerting. Eventually I arrived at my destination – close enough to slap the garbage can cover over the opening of the laying chamber. Trapped! Now what do I do????
Opossum stew? Catch and release?
Although this kind of dilemma is not unusual, it remains fraught with emotional and ethical consternation. Should the contentment of a trespassing opossum prevail over my homesteading requirements? Does my goal of practicing a self-sustaining lifestyle justify evicting the animal? Can my family and the opossum share this territory? Truce or a partnership? Is the opossum a trespasser on my property or have I usurped the opossum’s rightful turf?
So I stood there holding the trapped animal, and wondered what advice Bonnie Sherk, or Alan Sonfist, or Helen and Newton Harrison might provide. All these artists address strategies that differentiate ‘domestication’ from ‘wild’, and its moral/pragmatic/artistic implications.