Bree Blakeman, who works as a research fellow at the Australian National University in Canberra, has just had a very extraordinary encounter. It was a morning like any other but when Blakeman came to her office, she immediately thought someone must have broken into it.
"I opened the door and noticed that some of the Aboriginal bark paintings that are usually stored propped up against the bookshelves were face down on the floor," she told Bored Panda. "There were rolls of map-sheets on the floor also. I thought someone must have broken in. Books had fallen from their shelves."
Blakeman then walked over to check her computer on the far side of the room and to her surprise, she spotted the perpetrator who was still in there; a cute possum staring at her from behind the PC.
Image credits: FF_notes
"It seemed resigned, shy, and a bit scared (These wild animals are nocturnal and there was bright morning light streaming through the office window)," Blakeman recalled. "It didn’t attempt to move away even when I was really quite close to it. The cute animal just looked at me like 'halp please.'"
Image credits: FF_notes
The animal control personell put a very humane, no-harm box trap with fresh fruit in the room
Image credits: FF_notes
Image credits: FF_notes
Image credits: FF_notes
According to Austalia Zoo, the common brushtail possum is the most widely distributed large possum species. They usually live in woodlands and open forests in the hollow limbs of trees. However, they also make their homes in roofs of houses and sheds in suburban areas.
"It decided to make its own way out of the office through the same hole in the ceiling that it presumably fell through"
Image credits: FF_notes
Blakeman also wanted to use the chance of her funny photo becoming a viral animal meme to remind us that over a billion native animals have been killed by the recent bushfires in Australia. "Please consider donating to one of the many non-profit wildlife rescue organizations e.g. Wildlife Victoria," she urged.
People immediately fell in love with the little critter
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And the little guy went so viral, he became a meme
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