Florida

‘He seemed sober.’ Florida opossum mocked on social media for Spring Break dilemma

The strange discovery was made March 13 near the Long Doggers bar and grill in Melbourne Beach, Florida, according to a WILD Florida Rescue.
The strange discovery was made March 13 near the Long Doggers bar and grill in Melbourne Beach, Florida, according to a WILD Florida Rescue. WILD Florida Rescue photo

One rascally Florida opossum is being mercilessly ribbed on social media after it refused to be rescued from a trash bin full of beer cans.

The odd discovery was made March 13 — yes, during Spring Break — near the Long Doggers bar and grill in Melbourne Beach, according to WILD Florida Rescue. Melbourne Beach is about a 75-mile drive southeast of Orlando.

A photo shared on Facebook shows the opossum looking strangely content while resting among a bed of Michelob Ultra and Modelo cans.

“Looks like he had quite a night!! He seemed sober, was freed and off he went!” WILD Florida Rescue wrote in the March 14 post.

Callers reported it had been trapped for hours and assumed it needed help. However, witnesses noted it was not being cooperative.

“A couple of people had tried to get him out by tipping the can, but he would scurry up the trash,” the rescue agency told McClatchy News. “He had been in there since before 2 p.m., (and the) call came in between 6 and 7 p.m.”

Rescue Team Captain Adriane Crawford went to investigate and discovered it was still there, wearing a grin.

In a stroke of genius, she decided to tilt the can and scoop out all the cans, which gave the opossum zero reason to stay. Once the trash was gone, Crawford “pushed his little bottom and out he came.”

The post has gotten hundreds of reactions and comments, including threats to turn the photo into an emoji. At least one person noted it was not the first time this has happened.

“Maybe it’s the same one and he didn’t learn,” Kimberly Tank wrote.

“We’ve all been there, little guy,” Julie Bonacci wrote.

“Next stop, AA meeting,” Gina Maxwell posted.

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Mark Price
The Charlotte Observer
Mark Price is a state reporter for The Charlotte Observer and McClatchy News outlets in North Carolina. He joined the network of newspapers in 1991 at The Charlotte Observer, covering beats including schools, crime, immigration, LGBTQ issues, homelessness and nonprofits. He graduated from the University of Memphis with majors in journalism and art history, and a minor in geology. 
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