A bewildered resident in East Auckland has reached out to the local community to help identify a mystery creature that appeared on her fence last night.
Unfamiliar with the commonly-known nocturnal pest, the local described the animal as a cross between a monkey and a cat.
She saw the animal on her fence at about 6.30pm last night, she said on social media.
“It comes up with a size of a cat but with a piggy nose and a monkey body. Anyone can point out the name of this animal?” she asked.
Nearby residents were quick to help fix the local’s obvious knowledge deficit, one telling her it was the “infamous Monkey Cat of East Auckland”.
“Apparently they taste great in a pie,” a local said while another disagreed – “You can eat it but it tastes like s***.”
Others seemed to know more, poking fun at the person's confusion.
“It’s a Drop Cat, a close cousin of Aussie’s Drop Bears,” one said.
The jokes kept coming, with someone else confirming that it looked like the “Ashburton Panther” .
Another proposed it was an armadillo that had shed its shell, with the next reply quipping it was a “striped hyena,” suggesting the person “capture it using fresh chicken meat”.
Taking a line out of a famous episode of The Simpsons, another neighbour stated the animal was a “spider pig”.
However, tucked in between hilarious responses were the serious ones, possum-haters emerging in the thread and pointing out the obvious truth.
“Hahahaha, u must be from the burbs - if u can get to hit it with a shovel, it’s a massive pest and I wouldn’t eat the ones in Auckland”.
“Lol it’s a possum. We get them all the time. Wait til you hear the noises they make.”
One local's response spiralled into an event triggered in childhood.
“One time one of these lil sneaky things went thru my grandparents chimney and caused an entire ruckus. Ripped the wallpaper, the couch, pooped everywhere. We got home and saw the mess and saw it in the corner scared out of its mind, running through the entire house completely missing the open door.
“I was 2 and I have hated these dog, cat, sheep, pig hybrids ever since.’
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