Opossum Who Survived Dog Attack Served Bespoke 'Charcuterie Board' By Zoo

A video of an opossum being treated to his own charcuterie board is warming hearts online.

Dodger, a 5-month-old opossum, lives at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Washington. In the clip shared by the zoo's Facebook page on November 21, Dodger can be seen enjoying a specially made "charcuterie board."

Traditionally a selection of meats surrounded by complementary foods, Dodger's dish includes worms, eggs, sweetcorn, avocado, anchovies and more.

After sniffing around the platter, served on top of a tree stump, Dodger starts digging in. Unfortunately, his tongue isn't very coordinated, knocking half the food to the ground. However, he seems particularly fond of the raw chicken strips and mealworms, guzzling them down.

Facebook users couldn't get enough of the adorable opossum and his ravenous appetite, with the cute clip receiving over 25,000 views and 1,600 likes.

What Do Opossums Eat?

Better known as "possums" in North America, opossums are the only marsupials (pouched mammals) that live in the U.S. and Canada, according to National Geographic.

There are several types of opossum, but it's the Virginia opossum (also known as the "common" opossum) that most Americans will recognize.

Scavengers by nature, it's common to find opossums pawing through your garbage can or making camp in dumpsters (or hanging out with skunks and raccoons in your backyard). However, they are also skilled climbers and can turn up in places you'd least expect.

A representative for Woodland Park Zoo told Newsweek that as omnivores, opossums need a mixture of fruit, vegetables and protein to stay healthy.

"In the wild, opossums can eat thousands of ticks per year, which is super helpful for those of us who like to spend time in nature and not come back with ticks on us," they said.

'Charcuterie Isn't Just for Humans'

Dodger came to Woodland Park Zoo in October, when he was just 4 months old. He and his two siblings were rescued by Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, Washington, after their mother was killed in a dog attack.

"He and his siblings were too young to survive without mom's help, so Point Defiance hand-reared them," Woodland Park Zoo said.

"His siblings moved to other facilities accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums."

The zoo said his favorite foods are chicken, fish and hard-boiled eggs (which the team peels first), banana, eggs and avocado.

"Basically, he just loves food in general," she said.

As Dodger is new to his home, the charcuterie board was a welcome present from the Woodland Park Zoo team.

"The charcuterie board represents friends and family coming together to spoil and celebrate each other, so we thought what better treat to gift our newly arrived rescue opossum!" they said.

"Luckily, our animal keeper team and photographer jumped at the idea and our tiny charcuterie dreams came true. Celebrating nutrition has never looked more adorable."

But did Dodger appreciate the effort? The zoo thinks so.

"He carefully selected favorite items off his charcuterie board... until he climbed on top of the board and sat on all of his food while eating it," they said.

When he's not eating, Dodger enjoys napping in his favorite hammock. He's also training to be an ambassador animal so he can take part in outreach projects.

"He is learning behavioral activities such as voluntarily walking into his crate, traveling in a crate, waiting at a 'station' while we open and close doors, climbing small trees that we use during education and outreach programs, touching his nose to a target stick and much more," Woodland Park Zoo said.

"We're also teaching him how to say 'yes' and 'no' so that he can choose whether or not to participate in training and programs each day."

The adorable video earned Dodger plenty of new fans online.

"Looks like he's having a little feast," commented Justin Letkowski.

"What a lovely treat," said Leslie Kowash.

"Livin' the good life," agreed Lucy Faerber.

"A little messy," wrote Sally Johnson. "But I'm sure he'll clean it up."

"He's still working on the table manners I see," added Sophie Morse.

While Teena Williams said: "Charcuterie isn't just for humans."

Dodger isn't the only hungry opossum to go viral this year. Back in March, George the opossum was dubbed "the cutest thing" by TikTok users, with footage of him chomping on a strawberry receiving 1.2 million views and 320,000 likes.

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