Scratch me please!

Just got a photo that I need to share:

This is Scratch, a young manicou, that has been separated from its mother because it got run over by a car. Scratch made his/her way to the Botanic Gardens because Jeff (a friend of mine)found him and took the young oppusom to the Forestry Division.

A coworker decided to "adopt" the few-weeks old manicou and gave it a name. Manicou's are protected in Dominica under the Wildlife act so legal adoption is not practiced however many persons do have them caged in their back yards and do some form of rearing as a meat source. It makes a delicous soup, trust me I know...

The opossum or "manicou" is popular and can only be hunted during certain times of the year owing to overhunting (usually between October and December) which is also a major festive season; the meat is traditionally prepared by smoking then stewing.

The meat is light and fine-grained, but the musk glands must be removed as part of preparation. The meat can be used in place of rabbit and chicken in recipes. Historically, hunters in the would place a barrel with fresh or rotten fruit to attract opossums who would feed on the fruit or insects.

Nest@