The pos­sum is not an attrac­tive domes­tic scav­enger, hav­ing the scruffy, unkempt look of a Bow­ery bum and the rep­u­ta­tion, prob­a­bly deserved, of being stu­pid. Cer­tain­ly the pos­sum lacks the cud­dle­some charm of its part­ner in back­yard crime, the raccoon.