😃 happy to give you something to laugh about, in all this. Your boss did say it's all about attitude - how can you not feel more confident the next time you have to deal with them, if you've got a bag full of hot sauce balloons with you?

Ah yeah, you're right, it's an act, but it looks scary so people freak out - my bad. If people just left them alone, they leave you alone.

Insectivores, mostly, but they'll eat carrion too. They've got a bad reputation because they aren't adorable like your possums, but like most critters, if you leave them alone, they leave you alone. They consume a LOT of ticks, which is important, since ticks spread a number of nasty diseases to humans.

An Australian possum is a completely different, adorable animal, than an American opossum, though. Not that opossums can't be adorable, but they're also very aggressive when cornered and will take up residence in the carcass of whatever rotting critter they've found, until they eat everything but the bones and hide...

Yes! A Tabasco-filled squirt gun straight in the face - no wait, this is a valid excuse to drop a few extra bucks on some of that insane who-would-even-make-this ghost pepper sauce.

Edit: I'm on a roll - my brain just said "but wait! these things are covered in mouths!" Water balloons....