Tara McVicar chronicles discovery of opossum family in closet

“TERRIFYING”, “hissing”, “demon spawn”, “devil”. This woman’s surprise discovery in her closet was obviously unsettling.

devil possum

“TERRIFYING”, “hissing”, “ferocious”, “devil”, “demon spawn”.

One would think Los Angeles resident Tara McVicar’s surprise discovery in her closet was a secret vortex into purgatory.

But the reality of her find was more a lesson about decluttering than it was eternal damnation.

McVicar was spring cleaning earlier this month when she discovered an opossum nesting in a garbage bag.

The surprise came when she realised the mother had a litter of babies clinging to her back.

But her initial horror soon transformed into a story of humanity after she chronicled her heartwarming journey on YouTube as she attempted to free the family.

An opossum, you say? Yes, there’s a difference. While both species are marsupials, Australian possums belong to the Diprotodontia family, while Americans belong to the Didelphidae.

Captain Cook’s botanist Sir Joseph Banks, named the possum after the American version, citing physical similarities.

While Australians are used to possums running amock, it seems the rest of the world hasn’t quite caught on, with the Scottish Times describing the situation as “terrifying”, while in the US, Inside Edition called it “ferocious”, with others relating the marsupial to a “beast”, and “devil”.

Wait until they meet an echidna; now that will truly be terrifying.