Brooklyn - That's No Rat! Opossum Takes Ride On NYC Subway

In this undated photo, an opossum hides under a seat on the subway in New York. Startled riders abroad a Manhattan-bound train spotted the opossum around 4:30 a.m. last Friday.

BROOKLYN - A suspicious passenger of the four-legged variety led to the evacuation of a New York City subway car.

Startled riders aboard a Manhattan-bound train spotted an opossum curled up underneath a seat near the train’s heating duct around 4:30 a.m. on Friday.

The New York Times reports the animal apparently boarded the train at Coney Island in Brooklyn, where the platform is above ground. The subway car was evacuated several stops later in Manhattan as officers wearing heavy gloves tried to remove it. When the marsupial bared its teeth at them, animal control experts were called in.

Rats and pigeons are often seen in the city’s subways, but NYC Transit spokesman Charles Seaton says it’s the first time anybody could remember a wild animal in the system.