When Bree Blakeman arrived at work on Monday morning and found herself in the midst of what appeared at first glance to be a crime scene, she was in for even more of a shock than if the room had just been torn apart by thieves.
Her office at the Australian National University in Canberra had been invaded, ransacked, ripped apart. But the intruder hadn’t been looking for valuables to steal.
Because the intruder, it turned out, was a possum.
Walked into my office and thought someone must have broken in because it looks trashed… and then I saw this little sweetie covering behind my computer. ❣️ pic.twitter.com/B4tuj0kYpT
— Bree (@FF_notes) January 19, 2020
“It wasn’t until I went to check my computer on the far side of the room that I noticed a fluffy little face staring at me from behind the computer,” Blakeman told BuzzFeed News. “And that’s when I also noticed the toilet droppings and urine everywhere too. It all made sense.”
The poor little guy had somehow found himself trapped inside Blakeman’s office, and had ostensibly trashed the place while trying to find a way out.
“It crashed through the ceiling, poor [thing]!” she tweeted.
It’s crashed through the ceiling, poor ting! I gave them some water, closed the door again, and have called the relevant people on campus to help catch+relocate them.
— Bree (@FF_notes) January 19, 2020
She also shared that it looked like “it must have tried to climb up the shelves to get up through the ceiling again a number of times,” due to the number of books that had been thrown to the floor.
Blakeman was quick to contact the relevant people to try to get the possum back to his natural habitat.
Update: three lovey people came to assess the situation. They are going to come back with a little possum box and some fresh fruit and then we must all wait until it decides to go into the box. Possibly 24hrs. Not even mad. 😆
— Bree (@FF_notes) January 20, 2020
But in the meantime, she helped her new pal out by leaving it a carrot and some water to try to make its stay in her place of work more comfortable.
Unfortunately, a weather advisory meant that the campus was closed down and the wildlife folks couldn’t get the possum out right away.
Looks like Possum will be spending another night in my office. It showed no interest in alternate accommodation provided (+ fresh fruit). The wildlife people will check again in the morning. pic.twitter.com/alyyXZ5Wf5
— Bree (@FF_notes) January 20, 2020
But the story has a happy ending. By the time all was in the clear, Blakeman says, the possum had managed to find its own way back out into the world, and, hopefully, back home.
Final (happy) update: possum catcher checked my office again this morning & the possum wasn’t in the cage but it seems to have found it’s own way out of the room. After a bit of rest, some water and carrot it must have climbed back through the hole in the ceiling. 😌 🌿 👏🏼
— Bree (@FF_notes) January 22, 2020
The brushfires in Australia have displaced a large number of animals from their natural habitats, and it’s reportedly been more and more common to find them co-mingling in human spaces where they wouldn’t normally be found.
Well er, this blew up.
While you are here please consider donating to the bushfire relief fund for First Nations Communities in Australia: https://t.co/AGqZskoZcH (I know there are spelling errors in the intro blurb but it’s 💯 legit.)
— Bree (@FF_notes) January 20, 2020
Fortunately for this little guy, Blakeman was patient and understanding of his circumstances and gave him some time to rest from what was undoubtedly a harrowing ordeal for the trapped critter. But honestly, who couldn’t love a face like this?
me most mondays pic.twitter.com/eqIPVxWo6a
— Tiger Webb (@tfswebb) January 21, 2020
Naturally, the trapped possum became an instant meme:
when you’ve missed the last bus & you’re waiting for your mum to collect you pic.twitter.com/NNYGgbzNmc
— 💀 Spikings 💀 (@HSpikings) January 20, 2020
Defendant, you’ve been charged with breaking and entering, how do you plead?
Not guilty, your honour pic.twitter.com/47wiKH6Wl6
— Baamofin Lu’Jesha (@O_Nifesq) January 20, 2020
“Oh god why did I go into academia…”
— Devin Bissky Dziadyk (@bisskydziadyk) January 20, 2020
Same tbh pic.twitter.com/sC7vFbbjPR
— theflemface Ⓥ (@theflemface) January 20, 2020
‘Please help, this is not the bush.’ pic.twitter.com/qFmVMXPiRo
— The Effing See (@MeatMechSuit) January 20, 2020
— BlueLemonBar (@BlueLemonBar) January 20, 2020
*record scratch* yep that’s me. you’re probably wondering how i ended up in this situation. pic.twitter.com/SnIxsObCZ4
— heidi heilig (@heidiheilig) January 21, 2020
Day 1 of blending in as a paperweight…. going well so far. Hoomans ar bamboozled pic.twitter.com/vSKqLKM8Wm
— Kj (@Karan_JV) January 20, 2020
When you’ve run out of toilet paper and call your mum to bring you some. pic.twitter.com/1oalfalnUI
— Owen Williams 🏴 (@OwsWills) January 20, 2020
Grad student having a moment. pic.twitter.com/H6Kbq7w38W
— opendna ⚙️ (@opendna) January 20, 2020
The look on my face as I try to finish my dissertation draft. 😥 pic.twitter.com/5Gav9nN4GH
— Mother of Fishes🐟🔬👁️♿🧠 (@optic_chiasm) January 20, 2020
When your mom is late picking you up from school and all the other kids are gone pic.twitter.com/PVjwu2EqfK
— EinWaltz (@EinWaItz) January 20, 2020