# Help me identify the monster in my driveway **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 23, 2005, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-the-monster-in-my-driveway/291467 "2005-02-23T02:55:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-the-monster-in-my-driveway/291467/41 "2005-02-23T21:18:40Z")
> [@Tupug Anachi](#): > > Another vote for possum here. How many more for a marsupial quorum? ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-the-monster-in-my-driveway/291467/42 "2005-02-23T21:39:56Z")
Yay! It’s a Chupacabra! I win! What do I win? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-the-monster-in-my-driveway/291467/43 "2005-02-23T22:21:42Z")
> [@ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](#): > > Awww…but a groundhog is so BORING. Plus, I think I’d recognize one. > > Should I call the Globe and tell them about the local Chupacabra sighting? Totally. (I was surprised when I saw my first groundhog - size of a cocker spaniel, they are.) IANNAMUO½AA is my very favourite acronym so far. ---
**Author:** ![pasunejen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/58956e/32.png) [@pasunejen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pasunejen)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-the-monster-in-my-driveway/291467/44 "2005-02-23T22:35:32Z")
> [@badbadrubberpiggy](#): > > I’ve seen them too! Mostly, we just get regular rats, but sometimes I see huge ones lurking around dumpsters. > > Come to think of it, I think I’ve only seen 1 or 2 stray cats in all my time in Boston. The rat population must be keeping them down… I’d say that’s a fair bet…When I was going to school there I once had a couple of the big ones run right across my feet. Ugh. ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-the-monster-in-my-driveway/291467/45 "2005-02-23T22:52:37Z")
> [@ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](#): > > … It was after dark when I got home, so the fella wasn’t waddling around in daylight. However, it did surprise me that he didn’t take off until I approached. I had just pulled my car up to the curb right along next to him! I would think that would have scared him off. … Urban possums are quite casual around people. Back when I was attending the University here I’d frequently encounter a possum or two while on my way to early morning classes. They’d just ignore me and waddle along on their daily garbage foraging patrol. ---
**Author:** ![ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-the-monster-in-my-driveway/291467/46 "2005-02-23T23:24:29Z")
> [@Wile E](#): > > Yay! It’s a Chupacabra! I win! > > What do I win? You can have the pelt if I ever catch it 🙂 L ---
**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-the-monster-in-my-driveway/291467/47 "2005-02-23T23:51:44Z")
After reading the OP, my first reaction was that it’s a possum based on my one previous encounter with one of the critters. I was sitting in my office at home late at night when I heard some scratching noises in the window. I peeled back the curtains to see this weird, dark, rodent-like creature staring right back at me! It was hanging on the metal grill outside my window. I jumped back from the window and screamed! Think William Shatner on the plane with the gremlin. The creature was just hanging there looking at me with its beady eyes; it didn’t move at all. I ran to my reference books to find out what it was. It was a possum. The next day I went on a possum hunt and chased it out of my yard, and it waddled up a storm. ---
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-the-monster-in-my-driveway/291467/48 "2005-02-24T00:27:17Z")
> [@Wile E](#): > > Yay! It’s a Chupacabra! I win! But there isn’t a goat to feast on for miles… ---
**Author:** ![zoogirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b9bd4f/32.png) [@zoogirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoogirl)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-the-monster-in-my-driveway/291467/49 "2005-02-24T05:12:19Z")
We used to have two possums at work. What a couple of cuties! Pie and her brother Stew. 😉 No, I didn’t name 'em! Both were totally hand tame, havng been raised from kitten sized babies. They never bit and scratched only by accident. I’ll tell you, nothing can hug like a possum! They used to get the end of their tails through my beltloops and just hang on. Gee, I miss 'em. They’re both gone now. ☹ Both of them went to many a class and birthday party as regular “Presentation” animals. I had the pleasure of carrying Pie around at the “Boat For Hope” outdoor charity event a few years ago. She was a perfect little lady and the kids all just loved her. I wouldn’t recommend trying that with just _any_ possum, though. She’d known me almost all her life. Now that I think about it, Pie was fairly dark, too. Stewie was rather lighter. They must have weighed in the neighbourhood of fifteen pounds, about the size of a big cat. They were definately an armfull. I’ll have to check, but I don’t think there’s still a pic on the zoo’s site. It was updated quite a bit just recently. ---
**Author:** ![Imbrium](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/13edae/32.png) [@Imbrium](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imbrium)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-the-monster-in-my-driveway/291467/50 "2005-02-24T08:58:43Z")
I used to have two possums. They were tiny (like hamster sized) and my friend’s dog had tried to eat one of them. They lived at my house until they were big enough to take care of themselves. I had always thought of possums as big nasty rats before this, but these two changed my mind about them. They were the sweetest things, and they liked to sit on my head and just hang on while I walked around and stuff. We called them Tasha and Mishmi, aka the possum posse. Possums are definately not pets, but I miss them. ---
**Author:** ![dinahmoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8797f3/32.png) [@dinahmoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dinahmoe)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-the-monster-in-my-driveway/291467/51 "2005-02-25T02:54:22Z")
I vote possum as well. We have one in our yard (in Beverly) who likes to dip his paws in the dripping can under the gas grill. He naps on an old lobster pot behind the garage. His name is Mr. Toady. I’ve also seen hugenormous rats all around Boston and the North Shore. Newburyport maintains a large feral cat community to try and keep the wharf rats in check. ---
**Author:** ![ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-the-monster-in-my-driveway/291467/52 "2005-02-25T12:39:03Z")
I saw him again! I would say, most definitely a possum. His name is Mr. Cheeks. I don’t know why, because he has no cheeks. He’s a much darker color than other possums I’ve seen, but otherwise unmistakabley possumesque. I’m sort of sad he’s not a chupacabra. Can I still pretend he is? He seems to be fascinated with garbage. There is a lot of food in our garbage. Since I had gastric bypass surgery, I throw out portions of a lot of my meals. So maybe I’m his favorite garbage on the block! ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-the-monster-in-my-driveway/291467/53 "2005-02-25T13:02:52Z")
> [@Puggy](#): > > Mr. Anachi once picked one up by the tail when he was consuming tequila (Mr. Anachi, not the possum) and lived to tell about it. A possum drunk on tequila just might pick Mr. Anachi up by his tail. Ya might want to tell him that. 😃 > [@Polycarp](#): > > IANNAMUO½AA (I am not normally a maker up of half assed acronyms), but I was under the impression that this was one of the “standard user set,” if a bit less common than some. I am using 1/2A regularly from now on! ---
**Author:** ![Lux\_Fiat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bc79bd/32.png) [@Lux\_Fiat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lux_Fiat)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-the-monster-in-my-driveway/291467/54 "2005-02-25T20:49:05Z")
> [@badbadrubberpiggy](#): > > I’ve seen them too! Mostly, we just get regular rats, but sometimes I see huge ones lurking around dumpsters. > > Come to think of it, I think I’ve only seen 1 or 2 stray cats in all my time in Boston. The rat population must be keeping them down… I still have yet to see these legendary cat-sized rats. We had plenty of feral cats in my old neighborhood, so that may have accounted for the lack of them there, but even downtown or in other parts of Boston, I’ve only ever seen mice and normal-sized rats. Not that I’m particularly upset about that, now that I think about it. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-the-monster-in-my-driveway/291467/55 "2005-02-25T20:50:10Z")
> [@Prancer](#): > > There are tons of muskrat in Illinois. If you live on water, you can see them all them time. As a child, I lived on a small chanel that lead into a fresh water lake. We always had a Mike or Michelle Muskrat swimming around back there. We liked to pretend they were always the same married couple, but I’m sure there were various Mikes and Michelles through the years. They’re fun to watch, and they don’t eat fruit trees like the beavers do. Hmmm…Shouldn’t that be Muskrat Susie & Muskrat Sam? Dammit, look what you’ve done to me now. I hate that song! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-the-monster-in-my-driveway/291467/56 "2005-02-25T22:15:15Z")
We used to have cats in our Brighton neighborhood. They sat around the garage waiting for handouts and stuff. But then we got a Jack Russell. I never saw cats move so fast. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-the-monster-in-my-driveway/291467/57 "2005-02-26T00:17:59Z")
> [@ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](#): > > I saw him again! > > I would say, most definitely a possum. His name is Mr. Cheeks. I don’t know why, because he has no cheeks. He’s a much darker color than other possums I’ve seen, but otherwise unmistakabley possumesque. > > I’m sort of sad he’s not a chupacabra. Can I still pretend he is? > > He seems to be fascinated with garbage. There is a lot of food in our garbage. Since I had gastric bypass surgery, I throw out portions of a lot of my meals. So maybe I’m his favorite garbage on the block! How do you know his name, did he tell it to you? If so then that’s even better than a chupacabra. Just do be safe, be sure to start all conversations with “Please don’t eat me el chupacabra”. ---
**Author:** ![ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-the-monster-in-my-driveway/291467/58 "2005-02-26T00:50:35Z")
Well, here’s what I know about the Chupacabra: And don’t worry, this won’t be interesting in the least. I know they have Chupacabra in Puerto Ricco. I’ve been there! It’s so beautiful. I saw thousands and thousands of bats while I was there, but NO Chupacabra. Also, my little sister (that’s my PRETEND little sister from Big Brother/Big Sister) is from El Salvador. They also have the Chuacabra THERE!! How can this be? The creature is EVERYWHERE? Certainly if they can have it in those places, it’s no doubt in MY driveway too. Who’s to say the Chupacabra doesn’t look like a possum. Maybe if I poked him, he’d sprout huge horns and grow to be 6 feet tall or something. I will take your advice and be very careful with Mr. Cheeks (who got his name because he doesn’t really HAVE any cheeks and I thought that was ironic). L ---
**Author:** ![Lux\_Fiat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bc79bd/32.png) [@Lux\_Fiat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lux_Fiat)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-the-monster-in-my-driveway/291467/59 "2005-02-26T04:17:40Z")
> [@ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](#): > > Also, my little sister (that’s my PRETEND little sister from Big Brother/Big Sister) is from El Salvador. They also have the Chuacabra THERE!! They have a chupacabra in El Salvador, too? I was never told. My old neighborhood was in Jamaica Plain. Plenty of feral cats. I’m in Quincy now, (which means I’m dissembling a bit in my “Location” field, but I refuse to admit that I live in the 'burbs as long as I’m within walking distance of a T station), and there’s very little of anything besides squirrels in my new neighborhood. Oh wait! I totally saw a racoon a couple of months ago. We never got those in JP. ---
**Author:** ![Lux\_Fiat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bc79bd/32.png) [@Lux\_Fiat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lux_Fiat)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-the-monster-in-my-driveway/291467/60 "2005-02-26T04:24:45Z")
I missed a “c” up there in “raccoon,” didn’t I? Dammit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-the-monster-in-my-driveway/291467.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-the-monster-in-my-driveway/291467.md?page=4)