Early this past summer, a wild visitor appeared out front of Samantha C. Ridge’s home in Indiana, looking like he was in need of help. It was a raccoon who appeared a bit too young to be wandering around on his own.
“I was worried he’d been kicked out
from his family,” Ridge told The Dodo. “My husband, John, put out some leftovers for him. We felt bad because he was so little.”
The little raccoon had found a lifeline. And he seemed to know it.
“One night, we looked up and there he was, out on the deck, which is a second-story deck. John named him Radar,” Ridge said. “Radar coming by for snacks became a nightly thing. Our son got a rubber ball and left it on the deck, and Radar likes to roll it around after he snacks.”
As the summer went on, Radar grew bigger. But he never lost his playful spirit.
Ridge hadn’t seen Radar with other raccoons. But before long, he began sharing his nightly visits with an unexpected companion. One night, while he was snacking on the porch, a pale-colored opossum arrived at the spot as well.
“Radar was very curious, but very considerate,” Ridge said. “[The opossum] is polite and hesitant. I have named her Pearl.”
This meeting between Radar and Pearl wouldn’t be their last.
Since then, the little raccoon and opossum can be found most nights on the Ridges’ deck, munching together on the free food left out for them. But for Radar, Pearl is more than just a dining companion.
She’s someone to have fun with.
One night, while checking on them through the window, Ridge saw Radar using Pearl’s tail as a toy:
“I was honestly delighted watching them; Radar is so playful and funny and Pearl was so unbothered that we tried not to make noise or laugh, but it was tough,” Ridge said. “Radar has played with her tail often. Pearl never seems to care.”
The unlikely friendship goes on, even if that just means Pearl has grown accustomed to Radar’s antics.
“We see them almost every night,” Ridge said.
“We were all sad that Radar didn't have any siblings or a mom around. [But] it’s been heartwarming to see him interacting playfully with Pearl, since it really seems he wants that connection and is still young. Pearl is tolerant of him, and I think he likes hanging out with her!”
