I hit a possum this morning while driving to work

Or maybe it was a giant rat. No, I think it was a possum. I feel terrible.

• I hit a raccoon once. I was coming home about midnight and 3 scampered across the road, in single file. I saw them no problem. Hit the brakes, but got the last one. The next morning when I went to work, I saw animal control loading the carcass into a mini body bag and putting into his van. I felt bad, too, but there was nothing I could have done differently.

• Sorry to hear that, OP.

• I bet the possum feels like roadkill.

• didya stop n picket up? thems make some good eatin, loves me some possum stew.

  granny clampet

• I had 4 white pigeons stop in the middle of the road and stare at my car while I was going 35mph. I tried to brake, honked my horn, but I took them all out - I just saw feathers flying in my rearview mirror. I felt like total shit, but what the fuck - FLY!! I was nauseous for the whole day. I think it was a suicide pact.

• When walking, I just have to get a close up look at anything dead in the road. One time there was a dead possum and when I took a closer look, I saw 3 babies on her back. Latest roadkill I saw was a 3 foot snake. Caught me by surprise because it wasn't there when I first passed and the head was gone. I didn't know if the car or a quick bird did that.

• Lord, where the Hell do you all live??? In the sticks?

• Last year in college I flew back to the west coast to see a girlfriend that I hadn't seen in a year. The drive from the airport to her town took another two hours late at night after an already very long day. A mile or two from her home something darted across the highway and I ran it over, a large rubbery bump under the tires... I felt completely sick and horrified. No idea what it was. And then a couple of minutes later I was at her door totally stricken.

• It was a possum, its ugly, gross and weird.. much like many on here, it deserved it. I would have reversed it, backed over it, and then ran it over again.

• Don't feel too bad. There are plenty more.

• I sorry r5, but I can't help laughing.

• R6 I know a lady who stops and checks dead possum pouches for babies in case they are still alive. I had a dog who caught and killed a possum and later I found the babies littered all over the driveway when they fell out.

• Don't worry, OP, you're unlikely to have killed it and you may not have even injured it.

• I hit one of these once. Was going at a good clip, tried to brake when I saw it but too late. It gave a good Whump! when I hit its backside with my front left bumper. Thought it was a goner but when I looked in my rear view mirror it was still running across the street...went back to check on it later and saw no sign of a carcass on the roadside so I think it lived.

• I hit a something late at night and all I saw in a flash was a small white thing. The loud bump/clunk confirmed the worst. I was worried I hit a cat or small dog, so I turned around to check on the animal. As I drove by slowly with my window down, I could see the outline of the animal laying lifeless in a pool of blood. I let out a sad sigh. Then I caught sight of these God-awful pointy teeth and a nasty-ass thick white tail. I've never been happier to rid the planet of one nasty ass mother-f'er. U-G-L-Y!

• Interesting, but GROSS r13. I say the man should have to clean up the dead possum babies!

  Suzanne%20Sugarbaker

• Beth Ditto wants to talk to you. She's hongry for a possum burger!

• Very few people actually eat 'possums, unless they are really lazy, sorry people who don't have the gumption to hunt and harvest something that is really good to eat, like squirrel or 'coon. It is really greasy stinky meat, but of course, they are everywhere, and it does not take any effort to harvest them if anyone should want to eat such a thing. The Beverly Hillbillies was just meant for fun, but a real hillbilly like myself does not eat 'possum, gopher, armadillo, hawks, buzzards, or varmints in general. I hunt, harvest, and eat wild turkeys, doves, ducks, quail, squirrel, rabbit, 'coon, deer, javelina, and feral hogs. We need a hillbilly anti-defamation league.

• Roadkill possum goes great with swamp cabbage.

• [quote]One time there was a dead possum and when I took a closer look, I saw 3 babies on her back. You should have picked them up and taken them to a wildlife rehab center.

• By any chance was Granny riding in the back of your truck in a rocking chair?

  Miss%20Jane%20Hathaway

• Don't know if they died from impact, heat, or starvation, but they were as dead as mama.... sort of frozen in place.

• R20, are you under the impression there is some sort of shortage of 'possums? Let me assure you that three baby 'possums will go to good use in providing food for feral cats, and there will still be plenty of living 'possums. They are benign critters, as long as you can keep them out of the chicken yard. They actually do some benefit by killing snakes and rats.

• Road kill stew goes great with sketti!

  Honey%20Boo%20Boo

• It probably was one of the Irish ones. They're usually drunk and are the ones who get hit in the road. Properly, they're called O'Possums.

• Sonuva Bitch, I mean, no kidding, are you guys all living with Honey Boo Boo???? Where are you that you're exposed to such nature???

• Otters and wolves. Theys my favorites.

• R26 I live in a very large city and we have coyotes, possums and raccoons all over the place in addition to hawks and other birds of prey flying over head. Where the heck do you live?

• I've hit a flying bird. I was driving my mother's car shortly after she died and this bird flew in front of the grill and then nosedived. I heard a crunch. The worse part? I had Annie Lennox' "Medusa" playing on the tape deck. 1998 was a shit year.

• R25 Maybe O'Possums in Ireland, but they are opossums in the US

• OP here. I called Animal Control today and told them where it was, so hopefully when I drive back that way tomorrow it will be gone (it was still there this morning). I feel better reading all these responses. Thanks for the laughs.

• OP, any visits from the opossum's ghost?

• r18, I think there is a recipe in "The Joy of Cooking" for preparing an opossum for roasting and eating, it involves removing the scent gland near the anus I believe and soaking in a solution of salt and vinegar. I understand the "hillbillies" in Kentucky cook it with yams and/or sweet potatoes. "Tastes just like chicken!"

  anonymous

• OP, road kill is usually eaten by buzzards and any number of scavenging animals unless the traffic is too heavy to allow them to get to it.

• My dad had a friend who raised possums. He fed them grains. This guy had grown up dirt poor in the N.GA mountains. They trapped lots of game just to survive. I guess if you develop a taste for something exotic, and you have the means raise them, why not. I considered moving to S.FL to open a deep fried Burmese Python stand. I hit a baby squirrel a few months back. It ruined my day.

• [quote]OP, any visits from the opossum's ghost? Not yet.