Then, it became a rescue operation.
Now, finally, the story that piqued the interest of international media has a happy ending: Mrs Scoby Lunchbox — aka the Blacks Rd Ripper — has been reunited with the Dunedin woman who hand-reared her.
The baby possum was found on Monday night taking shelter in a chicken nesting box in Signal Hill.
The woman who found the possum did not wish to be named, but said over the weekend a friend had opened a chicken nesting box only to find a pair of tiny eyes, rather than eggs, staring back at him.
He was unaware of the story, so had shooed the animal away, she said.
However, before long, the possum returned.
The woman said she had opened the nesting box on Monday and found Mrs Scoby Lunchbox curled up in a ball amid the straw.
When she bent closer to investigate, the baby possum ran up the arm of her jumper.
"She was a very sweet little creature," she said.
She later reunited the possum with her carer.
The return of the possum puts an end to the saga which began a week ago when a distressed woman called Dunedin police to say she was "being held hostage" in her Blacks Rd home.
Senior Sergeant Craig Dinnissen said the woman reported that when she attempted to leave her house and reach her car the possum would charge, making her turn and flee back inside.
The possum, dubbed the "Blacks Rd Ripper", was later taken further up Signal Hill and released into the wild.
The person caring for the possum could not be reached for comment, but had previously said Mrs Scoby Lunchbox would be spayed.
