# Opossums--spawn of evil, or adorably cute?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opossums-spawn-of-evil-or-adorably-cute/571677
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [February 17, 2011, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opossums-spawn-of-evil-or-adorably-cute/571677 "2011-02-17T06:08:12Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@TravisFromOR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TravisFromOR)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2011, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opossums-spawn-of-evil-or-adorably-cute/571677/1 "2011-02-17T06:08:12Z")
Inspired by the thread in MPSIMS.
Are opossums cute or ugly?
---
### Author:  [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2011, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opossums-spawn-of-evil-or-adorably-cute/571677/2 "2011-02-17T06:10:19Z")
[Hmm.](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Jmv4oU5K4LM/Sj8Zri3dmMI/AAAAAAAAAmA/P9H1LuA2024/s1600-h/ugly-possum3.jpg)
---
### Author:  [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2011, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opossums-spawn-of-evil-or-adorably-cute/571677/3 "2011-02-17T07:35:09Z")
It’s not an either/or question. I think they’re cute - fuzzy faces, pink noses, bright eyes. But I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of one.
---
### Author:  [@Otara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otara)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2011, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opossums-spawn-of-evil-or-adorably-cute/571677/4 "2011-02-17T07:57:57Z")
As a NZer originally, spawn of evil as an introduced species.
We apparently hock them off to Malaysia etc for food as ‘kiwi bear’ now.
Otara
---
### Author:  [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2011, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opossums-spawn-of-evil-or-adorably-cute/571677/5 "2011-02-17T10:35:20Z")
I can’t answer as this is a public poll and the opossums may read it. Meet me at the park at midnight, but not under the old oak. The opossums hang out there waiting to drop on you.
---
### Author:  [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2011, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opossums-spawn-of-evil-or-adorably-cute/571677/6 "2011-02-17T13:47:39Z")
They are cute - but the damn things are a complete menance.
They devastate native flora and fauna…specifically both Kakapo and Kiwi eggs, make a mess of the trees and also carry TB.
And anybody that has had Possums on the roof would anytime be ready to blast a hole through the ceiling to get rid of the nasty little pricks.
Having said this, when blended with Merino wool, their fur makes awesome suit fabric, and their pelts can be turned into Ug Boots - so deliciously soft and warm - as well as hard wearing.
And then my Aunt and Uncle make a living out of trapping them.
---
### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2011, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opossums-spawn-of-evil-or-adorably-cute/571677/7 "2011-02-17T14:10:12Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#):
>
> [Hmm.](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Jmv4oU5K4LM/Sj8Zri3dmMI/AAAAAAAAAmA/P9H1LuA2024/s1600-h/ugly-possum3.jpg)
They certainly need a better dental plan.
---
### Author:  [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2011, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opossums-spawn-of-evil-or-adorably-cute/571677/8 "2011-02-17T14:19:09Z")
They can be cute- in Australia, they magically become hellspawn when transported across the Tasman. Much like Aussie rugby supporters.
---
### Author:  [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2011, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opossums-spawn-of-evil-or-adorably-cute/571677/9 "2011-02-17T14:25:29Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#):
>
> [Hmm.](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Jmv4oU5K4LM/Sj8Zri3dmMI/AAAAAAAAAmA/P9H1LuA2024/s1600-h/ugly-possum3.jpg)
Poor thing, it’s [del]frightening[/del] frightened!
---
### Author:  [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2011, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opossums-spawn-of-evil-or-adorably-cute/571677/10 "2011-02-17T14:35:46Z")
We’ve got them on our land. Ugly things. And they get in our cats’ food dishes. :mad:
---
### Author:  [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2011, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opossums-spawn-of-evil-or-adorably-cute/571677/11 "2011-02-17T14:36:38Z")
Well, the poll is flawed. The genesis of the discussion that spawned this thread wasn’t whether or not one likes to look at pictures of possums, but about people advocating killing them because they look freaky. Admittedly, some of those comments are probably jokes, but still, humans generally have a poor track record for treating anything (animals or other humans) we consider bad-looking.
So there should be at least one more poll option to the effect of “Doesn’t matter what they look like.”
---
### Author:  [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2011, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opossums-spawn-of-evil-or-adorably-cute/571677/12 "2011-02-17T14:39:09Z")
Or, to sound less like a spoilsport, “I think they’re cute/ugly, but that shouldn’t determine whether we kill them.”
---
### Author:  [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2011, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opossums-spawn-of-evil-or-adorably-cute/571677/13 "2011-02-17T14:55:55Z")
I voted cute, but that is a ‘cute’ with conditions. SOME possums are cute and some are not. Kinda like dogs. While I love ALL dogs, some I look at and ‘cute’ does not spring to mind.
But I still voted cute because I figured they would need all the positive votes they could get their grubby little paws on. Looks like I was right.
---
### Author:  [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2011, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opossums-spawn-of-evil-or-adorably-cute/571677/14 "2011-02-17T14:55:57Z")
I voted “cute”, because that answers the poll question(ugly or cute), but the answer to the question in the thread title (evil or cute) would have to be “both”.
---
### Author:  [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2011, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opossums-spawn-of-evil-or-adorably-cute/571677/15 "2011-02-17T15:01:21Z")
I voted cute because they look adorable after I kill and skin them.
WHAT!
Why are y’all looking at me like that??!!
Stewed possum is a delicacy 'round these parts.
---
### Author:  [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2011, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opossums-spawn-of-evil-or-adorably-cute/571677/16 "2011-02-17T15:06:16Z")
> [@Otara](#):
>
> As a NZer originally, spawn of evil as an introduced species.
>
> We apparently hock them off to Malaysia etc for food as ‘kiwi bear’ now.
>
> Otara
An episode of some travel show featured Beautiful New Zealand. They visited a Chinese restaurant during the “culinary specialties” section, The menu featured opossums–which had been cooked to achieve that red, glazed look of Peking Duck. Then the chef cleavered them up for the cookpot, so all that possumy goodness could be enjoyed!
Here in Texas they are possums; native if not beloved. My neighborhood is near downtown Houston–close to the bayous so we still have a bit of wildlife. One neighbor usually fed his cats outside; they would come in through the cat door & spend the night on his bed. One evening he felt a little critter cuddling near his head; reaching up to pet it, he found the fur felt a bit odd. Turning on the light, he discovered he was cuddling up to a young possum!
---
### Author:  [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2011, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opossums-spawn-of-evil-or-adorably-cute/571677/17 "2011-02-17T15:13:55Z")
Possums and I have a deal, I spray 'em with the hose and they hiss at me. The hiss face? Not cute.
---
### Author:  [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2011, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opossums-spawn-of-evil-or-adorably-cute/571677/18 "2011-02-17T15:23:35Z")
Those New Zealand ones look like a fuzzy ball of fun compared to the ones here in North America.
Still, the NA ones are alright in their own possum-y way. As **Merneith** said, they’re cute for what they are but I wouldn’t want to be on the business end. I have one who lives near my yard and, so long as we restrict our interaction to him pausing in the driveway at night under my headlights and then scuttling away under the bushes, we get along just fine.
---
### Author:  [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2011, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opossums-spawn-of-evil-or-adorably-cute/571677/19 "2011-02-17T15:23:55Z")
They knock over our garbage cans. I have to clean up the mess. Not a fan.
---
### Author:  [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2011, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opossums-spawn-of-evil-or-adorably-cute/571677/20 "2011-02-17T15:28:57Z")
They’re both. Cute in a creepy way. The kind of cute that gives you involuntary shivers.
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opossums-spawn-of-evil-or-adorably-cute/571677.md?page=2)