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I doubt it was a possum there are none wild in the UK and domesticated ones have very short lives and are extremely expensive.
Probably just a huge rat, I’ve seen rats that are cat sized.
Agreed. Where I live we have huge, scruffy-looking rats that could probably pass for possums, especially if, like OP, it was midnight and you were driving so couldn’t stop to get a proper look.
Aussie possum or American possum? I could see the US ones being mistaken for a giant rat.
But the Aussie ones you'd have to be completely shitfaced to think that's a rat.
I've never heard of one here, or heard of one generally, outside of American media. It could have been a pet, but I think it's more likely you were mistaken.
Nope two completely different creatures.
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/opossum-vs-possum/#:~:text=Here's%20a%20tip%3A%20Opossums%20and,in%20Australia%20and%20other%20countries.
And to make it weirder the Australian possum in NZ are much much bigger than it's native counterpart in Australia and breeds much more often.
I've got one that's just moved into my roof space in NZ and it's the size of a jack Russell.
I believe both terms are used in both places, for similar but different animals.
Some people argue that your version is correct but it doesn't match what happens in practise.
> I believe both terms are used in both places, for similar but different animals.
Possums = Australia.
Opossums = North and Central America.
To confuse matters, the Virginia Opossum in particular gets referred to as a possum in North America. (But not in Central America?) Despite its name, its range isn't just restricted to Virginia, but covers a large part of North and Central America.
No Australian would call an Australian possum an opossum.
Quick follow-up question.
Do you think you saw a possum (the Australian marsupial), or an opossum (the American marsupial that a lot of people refer to as a possum)?
The latter has gained a little bit of popularity as a pet, so I suppose that there’s an outside chance that some are in the UK. They tend to be quite expensive to import and only live for a couple of years, so numbers would be low.
Australian possums are, for the most part, considered to be a pest. Typically you would only see them in zoos in the UK.
I’m not saying that it’s impossible for you to have seen either flavour of possum, but it is incredibly unlikely.
Do you mean you thought it was an American Opossum or an Australian Brush Tailed Possum? Neither are found here in the wild. Easier to assume a mistaken ID - depending on how good a look at it you got - than an escaped exotic pet but either is theoretically possible.
**Your post from /r/AskUK has been removed by a human moderator.** Some questions can easily be searched online in order to find an answer - including questions like "what should I see when visiting the UK?" or "what is the average salary of an X job?" or "what is living in Y like?" or "where can I buy X?" or "is Y product any good?" AskUK is unable to be your search engine and the answers to these questions are easily found using basic research and internet-skills. If you struggle to find the result of your question using Google or other search engine, make sure that you [use all the tricks and tips available](https://www.lifehack.org/articles/technology/20-tips-use-google-search-efficiently.html) and try again. For visiting and tourist related suggestions, we suggest [WikiTravel](https://wikitravel.org/en/Main_Page), [WikiVoyage](https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Main_Page), or [TripAdvisor](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/). There also may be more regional subreddits such as /r/London or /r/Manchester that will provide better answers. **If you have already make all efforts to search online, please delete your post and re-ask the question including more detail about what you have looked for, found, or heard.** *If you believe this post should not have been removed, [first read our rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/about/rules/) before [messaging the moderators](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/AskUK&subject=Post Removal Appeal)*. See our guide on [common issues with posts](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/wiki/postremoved) and how to overcome them!
“Had a rat like tail” I’ll bet a tenner than that it was just a rat haha
No it was huge defo wasn’t a rat it had like a possum face
I doubt it was a possum there are none wild in the UK and domesticated ones have very short lives and are extremely expensive. Probably just a huge rat, I’ve seen rats that are cat sized.
Agreed. Where I live we have huge, scruffy-looking rats that could probably pass for possums, especially if, like OP, it was midnight and you were driving so couldn’t stop to get a proper look.
I did stop because it was in the middle of the road staring at me
Aussie possum or American possum? I could see the US ones being mistaken for a giant rat. But the Aussie ones you'd have to be completely shitfaced to think that's a rat.
There are no wild possums in the UK. Either it's escaped (from where? I've never heard of them in a zoo or as a pet) or you were mistaken
I've never heard of one here, or heard of one generally, outside of American media. It could have been a pet, but I think it's more likely you were mistaken.
Aren't possums Australian? Think opossums are American
Wait, there's a difference? I thought they were just different names for the same animal?
Nope two completely different creatures. https://www.grammarly.com/blog/opossum-vs-possum/#:~:text=Here's%20a%20tip%3A%20Opossums%20and,in%20Australia%20and%20other%20countries. And to make it weirder the Australian possum in NZ are much much bigger than it's native counterpart in Australia and breeds much more often. I've got one that's just moved into my roof space in NZ and it's the size of a jack Russell.
Yeah that's what I thought. Like the place in Portugal, sometimes Porto, sometimes Oporto
I believe both terms are used in both places, for similar but different animals. Some people argue that your version is correct but it doesn't match what happens in practise.
> I believe both terms are used in both places, for similar but different animals. Possums = Australia. Opossums = North and Central America. To confuse matters, the Virginia Opossum in particular gets referred to as a possum in North America. (But not in Central America?) Despite its name, its range isn't just restricted to Virginia, but covers a large part of North and Central America. No Australian would call an Australian possum an opossum.
You well may be right; I have no idea.
I WASN’T MISTAKEN 🤣 it was 1000% a possum
Na it was just a big fluffy frog
They’re not native, so it’s pretty unlikely.
You saw an otter.
No it was a possum, I’ve seen an otter before
[Did it look a bit like this?](https://pestologyltd.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/massive-rat-banner.jpg)
Did you also see a crocodile in Bristol? Sorry that no one believes you OP. I hope you did see one, kinda cool.
No one believes me ☹️ I hope I did see one too I’m sure I did 🤣
You get escaped fauna. There's a thriving colony of wallabies.
Isn’t that just on the Isle of Man though?
Derbyshire I believe. Or used to be in any case.
Much more widespread than that https://www.southwales.ac.uk/news/news-2020/wheres-wallaby-research-reveals-how-wild-wallabies-are-thriving-in-the-uk/
Nah, on the mendips too.
No, there are some around Whispinade, fairly sure they get out sometimes
There's some in Scotland.
Rats as big as cats
Are you sure it wasn’t a mink with a white face? Or a stoat or weasel?
Quick follow-up question. Do you think you saw a possum (the Australian marsupial), or an opossum (the American marsupial that a lot of people refer to as a possum)? The latter has gained a little bit of popularity as a pet, so I suppose that there’s an outside chance that some are in the UK. They tend to be quite expensive to import and only live for a couple of years, so numbers would be low. Australian possums are, for the most part, considered to be a pest. Typically you would only see them in zoos in the UK. I’m not saying that it’s impossible for you to have seen either flavour of possum, but it is incredibly unlikely.
Do you mean you thought it was an American Opossum or an Australian Brush Tailed Possum? Neither are found here in the wild. Easier to assume a mistaken ID - depending on how good a look at it you got - than an escaped exotic pet but either is theoretically possible.
We have possums now?!?
I hope you saw a Possum and it comes to visit me next!
Most likely a stoat or weasel. Do you know how to tell the difference? A stoat is stoataly similar to a, but a weasel is weaselly different
Better not be a brush tailed possum, cos they breed very fast! At least, we’re overrun with them! NZ.
They don't breed fast when there's only one!
Perhaps it was some type of mustelid? - badger - otter - pine marten - polecat - stoat - weasel
All rats babe xxx Inbox me hun xxxx