# NZ national newspaper: police call-out for possum

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nz-national-newspaper-police-call-out-for-possum/829809>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [February 19, 2019, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nz-national-newspaper-police-call-out-for-possum/829809 "2019-02-19T03:35:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2019, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nz-national-newspaper-police-call-out-for-possum/829809/1 "2019-02-19T03:35:49Z")

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Every now and then I see something that reminds me just why I love New Zealand.

Seen today in the NZ Herald, the country’s largest circulation newspaper,[the thrilling story](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12205255) of how a possum climbed into a woman’s room through an open window in the early hours of the morning, stared at her “like [she] was Satan”, and when threatened with a vacuum cleaner took up residence in her hall cupboard.

After calling the local City Council, she was told “the situation was outside the council’s jurisdiction”, and was transferred to the police, who arrived quickly to assist.

The fearsome animal was subsequently dislodged from the cupboard and chased back outside by those members of Dunedin’s finest using a "a mop handle and bucket ".

The woman resolved to “sleep with her window closed in future”.

😃

Footnote: NZ possums are the same as [Aussie possums](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_brushtail_possum) (they were a stupid import), and are different from [US opossums](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opossum) - both are marsupials but are otherwise unrelated.

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**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2019, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nz-national-newspaper-police-call-out-for-possum/829809/2 "2019-02-19T03:40:09Z")

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Their possums are cuter than ours.

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**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2019, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nz-national-newspaper-police-call-out-for-possum/829809/3 "2019-02-19T03:47:02Z")

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You have to be really careful when attempting to rid a house of critters. Never forget the lesson of [the squirrel cop](https://www.thisamericanlife.org/510/fiasco/act-three-0)! 😃

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**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2019, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nz-national-newspaper-police-call-out-for-possum/829809/4 "2019-02-19T04:00:06Z")

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Glad I’m not the only one who immediately remembered the story of the squirrel cop.