Surprise visitor at Pearson Airport in Mississauga failed to show proper ID

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Published September 13, 2022 at 1:44 pm

Pearson Airport in Mississauga briefly hosted a guest of a different kind yesterday afternoon (Sept. 12).

And fast-acting staffers at Canada’s largest and busiest airport were sure to get this particular VIP–Very Important (o)Possum–on its way safely and quickly.

“Suuure, you’re part of the Very Important Possum (VIP) Club…No ID means no entrance,” Pearson Airport officials tweeted on Monday. “Thanks for the tip, NAV Canada, and for gently escorting our friend off the premises…”

The wayward opossum, of which there are many in the fields and ravine around Pearson, in addition to many other critters and birds, somehow wound up inside the NAV Canada facility on the grounds of the Mississauga-based airport.

The Pearson Airport wildlife services team was called to corral the critter, which was then safely relocated.

“No (NAV Canada) ID means no entry at our Toronto Area Control Centre (at Pearson),” NAV Canada tweeted jokingly.

Pearson Airport is no stranger to wildlife. In fact, there’s plenty of it immediately surrounding the terminals and runways.

The Etobicoke Creek Watershed, comprised of the creek and surrounding ravine, is situated to the immediate west of the airport and its 4,600 acres (seven square miles) of property.

That natural area is home to many different animals.

Officials with the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), which runs Pearson Airport, say that in addition to smaller creatures like mice, frogs, turtles, squirrels, snakes, mink, groundhogs, rabbits, raccoons, beavers, opossums, muskrats and skunks, you’ll also come across larger wildlife including red foxes, coyotes and deer in and around the creek area. 

Additionally, Pearson officials say, some 20 different species of birds also call the airport area home. 

A GTAA spokesperson said earlier that to keep the airfield clear of animals, they use a combination of active and passive wildlife management techniques. 

Pearson Airport is also working with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) to protect and restore the huge watershed area.

The TRCA is in the process of developing a new watershed plan “that will use the latest science and data to inform municipal land use and infrastructure planning,” the conservation authority says.

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