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Freeloading possum munches on greens at store's garden center

By Ben Hooper
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Sept. 7 (UPI) -- A customer at an Australian store's garden section captured footage of a possum making an unusual daytime appearance to raid the vegetation.

Amanda Mac posted a video Aug. 27 to Facebook showing the brazen possum, normally a nocturnal animal, casually feasting on the plants for sale in the garden section of a Bunnings Warehouse in Brisbane.

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Mac described the animal as "a happy customer/petty thief."

The possum was previously caught on camera inside the store by customer Yvonne McRostie on Aug. 10.

"What a bold smart possum shopping in Bunnings today I guess she was going to pay for her purchase," McRostie wrote.

Queensland Museum collection manager Heather Janetzki said brushtail possums have adapted well to urban environments. She offered a potential explanation for why the nocturnal possum was out during the day.

"He's gone for lettuce ... that's a really good water source if there's no free water around the place," Janetzki told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

The store has few options for dealing with its destructive guest, as laws protecting the animals prevent them from being moved more than 100 feet from where they are found.

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