ELLIJAY, Ga. — An Ellijay woman said she had grown fond of the opossum that shows up in their yard from time-to-time. So she was initially concerned, Thursday night, when another wild animal made a guest appearance - a black bear.
"I grabbed my flashlight and iPhone and was scared my opossum was going to be attacked," Katie McNally Daniels said.
But the video shows a pretty adorable moment where the two interact - the bear clearly more curious than hungry.
"The bear seemed lonely wanting a friend and I was shocked by the interaction," she said.
Surprisingly, the bear, which was considerably larger than the little marsupial, seemed to be the more cautious one. The two interact for several seconds - with the bear even putting its paw out above the opossum - before the cute confrontation ends with the smaller of the two walking away.
Daniels said she thinks the bear may be the very same cub that came and slept next to a tree near their home the previous year after storms hit food supplies in the area particularly hard.
"We hadn't seen him in months. He HEVER DISTURBS or trash or anything else," she said. "He just comes and sits and sniffs around the logs. He seems lonely."
Daniels said she doesn't feed the animals that show up in her yard - including the bear or the opossum - but she does enjoy watching interactions like these.
"Too many people fear wildlife instead of respecting wildlife," she said.
In this case, at least, the wildlife turned out to be pretty friendly.