MAULDIN, S.C. (WSPA) – A baby opossum was caught walking across an ice cooler in the bar section of an Upstate restaurant.

A restaurant-goer said she caught the baby opossum on video about two weeks ago at Azecta Mexican Restaurant in Mauldin.

She said she goes to the restaurant often and has never seen anything like this.

When the opossum was brought to management’s attention, she said they “acted like it was normal.”

A 7NEWS crew went to the restaurant Friday morning and talked to a manager.

The manager said the opossum walked in through the door and they managed to get it out the same day.

“If you see them solo I always recommend observing before touching, I don’t recommend handling animals unless you have been trained to do so,” Stephanie Hoffer, owner of Precision Pest And Wildlife Removal, said.

Azteca said they have been at the same location for 24 years and said they have never had an animal accidentally get inside.

Wildlife removal experts, said opossum’s can get into unwanted spaces fairly easily.

Once you get an animal out of a space like that protect it so they can’t get in again, but yes it is far more common than people realize,” Hoffer said.

Hoffer said the creature with 50 teeth is also scared of you. While they are not extremely dangerous, she said you definitely don’t want them around.

“Of course they carry fleas and ticks which can be harmful to us,” Hoffer said. “But in general as far as a rabies vector they can get rabies but it is a very low percentage of possums that do.”

Experts said opossums are pretty common in the Upstate.

“It is not uncommon to run across them this time of year. You are starting to see the juveniles,” Hoffer said. “You may even see a mother opossum covered up in babies because they do carry them. They are the only marsupial in North America. They are unique but it is pretty common to see them in the Spring time.”

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Services received a complaint about the opossum on Thursday and they are investigating.

DHEC said they are still reviewing the circumstances surrounding how the opossum got inside the restaurant. They said “This is a “core” violation, defined as the least likely to cause a food borne illness.” They said they will be conducting inspections in the coming days.

According to DHEC “If you observe a pet or non-service animal you should report it to the manager or the person in charge of food safety for that establishment. It is up to the establishment’s operator to address the situation while it is occurring.”