Raccoon & Possum: BFFs

There’s been an unusual friendship developing in the night garden.

Two of our regular visitors – the raccoon and the possum- coincided a few times over the last couple months; we watched via the wildlife cam, holding our breath, waiting to see how they’d react to each other.

At first, one would come into view after another. They were mutually disinterested. There was plenty of food and water available (at what, by day, is supposed to be a bird feeder and bath), so they weren’t competing with each other for resources.

But then we noticed that they started to show up together almost nightly…and that their disinterest was turning into companionship and cooperation.

Now, the raccoon (and sometimes one or two of its family members) and the possum feed side by side, only inches away; they take turns climbing the tree where the feeder hangs and knocking seed down for each other. I wouldn’t be surprised if, in the winter to come, we woke up one morning to find footage of them snuggled together, sheltering against the cold night wind.

This footage is all from just last night (edited into clips and sped up a little). Isn’t incredible?