Oh my indeed...

My mother had Lyme disease and it was misdiagnosed again and again as psychosomatic. It seems to me that an awful lot of doctors are prone to blame the psychology of the patient when they really ought to say "I do not know what is causing it."

That's more of a rodent thing. In AZ you get pack rats taking up residence under your hood, and BAM! Wires get all chewed to heck. And, yeah, a REAL pain to fix 😾

They will his and look vicious, and if you come any closer, they will fall over in a dead faint, aka playing possum. They do not carry most viruses as their body temp is too low. The also eat insects, especially ticks, grubs, small animals, eggs, etc. they can be very docile and sweet, but it is not good to keep them as actual pets as it is very difficult to meet their dietary needs. Do some research, they're really quite fascinating.

No, opossums are not mean. That's just prejudice that people created because they didn't understand their behavior and appearance. That's why most people today are afraid of them. Sadly. I had an opossum friend in my backyard who I call Xenophilius.

They’re easily threatened and their only defense is hissing, so they look mean but just want to be left alone. They eat ticks, they’re really great.

When cornered I think any (future) mama will be mean. This is her nest. Would def. call wildlife instead of getting near them myself. But thanks for the question because I learned some interesting things. No opossums where I live

They will bite, and if you grab one by the tail, it will try to give you the death grip.

depends. If you leave em be and they don't have rabies, they'll usually just go on their way. But if you mess with them they'll probably bite, especially if they have rabies. At least that's what I've heard, I'm not sure. I personally think this guy just needs to move the nest somewhere safer.

I'm not certain, but it might be a marten that made itself a beautiful, cozy nest with leaves. In Germany at least it's a somewhat common thing that they crawl under the hood because it's nice and warm - and then they nibble at wires, etc. unwittingly turning your car into a potential death trap. ;-)

This is an opossum, a rodent with an important job. They eat humongous numbers of ticks in their territory. Their instinct is to HISS if surprised but they are generally very passive.

From below. Engine compartment is not a sealed chamber.