East Auckland woman fails to identify possum in hilarious viral post

It lives among us. Photo / File

It comes out at night and stalks our backyards, a bizarre creature that has a well-earned reputation as a pest and indiscriminate killer.

It is hunted across the country, often bringing entire communities together in festivals of bloodlust to kill and skin the alien intruder.

It is the Monkey Cat.

Those who see or hear the creature don't soon forget it but some Kiwis are lucky enough to have not had an encounter.

A resident of East Auckland spotted one on Tuesday night and, unfamiliar with the beast, took to social media to identify it.

"I just saw a cat-like animal," she wrote.

"It comes up with a size of cat, but with a piggy nose and a monkey body. Anyone can point out name of this animal?"

Here it is.

Warning: Bizarre hybrid animal below

Terrifying. Photo / Facebook

East Aucklanders who knew the animal by sight were quick to offer their advice to their confused neighbour.

"The infamous Monkey Cat of East Auckland I believe," one man wrote.

"Chupacabra," wrote another, misidentifying the animal as a far less terrifying mythical animal from the Americas that sucks the blood from livestock.

"It's a Drop Cat," another said. "A close cousin of Aussie's Drop Bears."

Others suggested it was an armadillo that had shed its armour or "striped hyena" and suggested it could be caught using fresh chicken meat as bait.

Many more correctly identified the Monkey Cat, calling it by its more popular name of "possum"

"Bro it's a Possum, welcome to NZ," one man wrote.

Others suggested the pest should be quickly dispatched with a shovel but didn't recommend tucking in.

"You can eat it," one woman noted, before adding succinctly: "But it tastes like s***."

via GIPHY