Heading into your office and finding a complete and utter mess isn’t anyone’s idea of a good morning – not even when the culprit is totally cute.
As a mom of a toddler, I can definitely attest to that fact.
When Australian Bree Blakeman opened the door to her office at Australian National University in Canberra one Monday morning, it was such a mess she assumed someone had broken in.
The research fellow looked around at Aboriginal bark paintings and maps strewn across the floor, at books fallen from the shelves – there was even a hole in the office’s ceiling.
https://twitter.com/FF_notes/status/1219022639986925568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.buzzfeed.com%2Fcameronwilson%2Fcute-possum-office-trashed-animal-australia-twitter
Soon, Blakeman told Buzzfeed News that she realized she wasn’t alone.
“It wasn’t until I went to check my computer on the far side of the room that I noticed a fluffy little face staring at me from behind the computer. And that’s when I also noticed the toilet droppings and urine everywhere too. It all made sense.”
https://twitter.com/FF_notes/status/1219023129923608576
What she saw was a common Australian brushtail possum (significantly cuter than the American opossum, if you ask me) which had come in through the roof.
“It seemed resigned and of course a bit shy and scared. Going by the number of books that had fallen from the shelves I think it must have tried to climb up the shelves to get up through the ceiling again a number of times. So I think it was a bit exhausted, too.”
Possums are nocturnal creatures, so Blakeman realized the animal was probably tired, scared, and really uncomfortable in all of the daylight. She felt sorry for the little guy, and gave it some water and a treat before calling a relocation service.
Update: three lovey people came to assess the situation. They are going to come back with a little possum box and some fresh fruit and then we must all wait until it decides to go into the box. Possibly 24hrs. Not even mad. ?
— Bree (@FF_notes) January 20, 2020
She posted of the incident on social media, and when people heard what happened and got a glimpse of the chagrin on the furry little face, well…meme city.
when you’ve missed the last bus & you’re waiting for your mum to collect you pic.twitter.com/NNYGgbzNmc
— ? Spikings ? (@HSpikings) January 20, 2020
The possum ended up making its own way out of the office – which is still a mess, as the campus has been closed due to the issues with bushfires – and Blakeman is worried about the damage being caused by leaving its droppings around the artifacts for too long.
Final (happy) update: possum catcher checked my office again this morning & the possum wasn’t in the cage but it seems to have found it’s own way out of the room. After a bit of rest, some water and carrot it must have climbed back through the hole in the ceiling. ? ? ??
— Bree (@FF_notes) January 22, 2020
Also, like the rest of us, she’s worried about the animal now that its back out in the world. She’s urging animal lovers everywhere to donate to charities that are doing their best to help rescue wildlife Down Under.
