Heidi Chronicles: Nursing The Next Generation

I hope they won't be checking out your yard and woods area now. Thinking of the Raccoon kits and how shaken Heidi and any other moms might be now.
Uck...When I used to do wildlife rehab, I assisted another rehabber with an injured vulchur. The will projectile vomit their putrid shomach contents toward anything that threatens them (like helpful rehabbers). And when I say putrid, I mean really bad!!

Hi Sheri,

Oh, gross. But you have to give them credit. That does sound quite effective for convincing others to go away. LOL.

I hadn't thought of that scenario in terms of the future. I won't put anything else back there. One thing that may work to my advantage is that it's probably not in their 'program' to expect to find food in the same place they found it previously, not like omnivores. Plants grow on the same bush/tree for days, even weeks. Where animals (meat) will show up is much more arbitrary. This may work to my advantage as they may not be inclined to expect to find more food where they found it before.

Also, while Heidi is out in daylight now. She won't bring the kits out in daylight. She brought them with her right at the edge of dusk one year (video on youtube). That was the only time, and even then she made them stay in the tree. I could see them, talk to them, take video of them, etc but could not feed them or get close to them.

Another thing that would make it very difficult for a large bird like that to grab a kit is that there is very little flying room in my backyard, so that it's quite difficult for them to maneuver. There is a very large weeping willow to one side of the buffet - along with many small decorative trees clogging up the flying space and massive overhanging branches from the forest.

The raccoon often run to the willow when they feel threatened, and the mothers teach the kits to go to the willow. If the threat is imminent, they will be vulnerable briefly if they try to get over the fence, but they can be under the protective canopy of the willow in seconds. The draping limbs of the weeping willow form walls that are like those bead 'doors' and 'walls' from the 60's. Smaller birds can navigate between the draping limbs but larger birds of prey cannot.

I know this because back when I had bird feeders up, the hawks and other birds of prey used to glide around in the air above the feeders looking for dinner. As soon as the shadow was cast over them, the small birds would all rush over to the weeping willow where they knew they were safe. That same willow would protect the kits and anything else smart enough to seek refuge under its massive, sweeping canopy.

Whew!! I am relieved now. You are such a good wildlife mommie! where do I go to find our utube movies?
Oh and how are you feeling these days? I sure do keep you in my thoughts and prayers for comfort and healing. Oh yes, and a good job too. ^_^

Yesterday afternoon, I looked out to see a yearling waiting at the patio door and went out to feed them. I had missed the prior 2 consecutive days. In total 3 raccoons showed up. Heidi and the Lt were not there, probably having given up on me after waiting the days I didn't show up. When word gets out that I was there yesterday, they will likely return once more.

It was only about 5:30PM and thus quite light out. Shortly into the meal, I found myself carrying on an inner dialog over the oddity of seeing a 2nd raccoon with Bast's unique coloring. The raccoon in front of me was that same, identical 'taupe-y' beige color. I always found myself oddly drawn to the color. I really liked it. I don't think I would want it to be the default color for the raccoon population at large, but I definitely enjoyed it as a rare, visual treat.

I remembered how I had made such a point to tell you how unique that color was, and yet here before me was another raccoon with that exact same color, a color I had previously only seen on Bast. Still, it was unlikely that she really was the only raccoon that color on the planet. The DNA for the color had, after all, come from somewhere. It was strange though, to see that color on another raccoon.

This raccoon even had the same light cream colored trim around the face with the same relative proportions of color and stripe. Maybe this was Bast's daughter. No, she was injured last year. I never saw any kits. Hmm. Maybe this raccoon had come from the same group Bast had migrated from.

It was about that time as I sat daydreaming and watching the taupe colored raccoon eat that I realized as my eyes caught her at just the right, or wrong, angle that this raccoon's back, right hip was assembled in a rather unusual manner. As I tried to make sense of the hip bone jutting strangely up into the air, I was reminded of the wilderbeast and how the parts didn't seem to go together, how it was said to be assembled from a collection of misfitting parts left over from other species. Wow, this really was unusual. The raccoon was both the color of Bast and seemed to have misfit parts.

But, of course, it wasn't Bast. It was a yearling. Or was it? I compared it to the other 2 yearlings that were there. Hmm. It was taller. Tall and thin - just like Bast. Bast had been very sleek and thin for a raccoon, so much so that I had described her as being like that lean cat from Egyptian pyramid artwork. Now that I looked more closely, it really didn't look like a yearling after all, just a very thin adult who could pass in a pinch.

Upon my arrival at the buffet, I had given each raccoon her food and then put food in front of me where Heidi 'sits', just in case she dropped by later. The yearlings had been willing to come close enough to me to eat from their places, but had not been willing to come close enough to eat Heidi's food. But this taupe raccoon was eating right there in front of me at Heidi's spot, a spot where few, very, very few, raccoons would feel comfortable.

When the other yearlings left, that taupe raccoon continued to eat quite calmly from Heidi's spot in front of me. Now this was very unusual for a number of reasons. I could count on 1 hand the raccoons who would do this. Few raccoons are comfortable around me, esp up close, when Heidi isn't present. I have long noticed that even yearlings who eat from my hand with Heidi there, will tend to stay a good distance away from me if she isn't there and will be noticeably skittish. Moreover, this taupe raccoon was alone with me now, having stayed behind when the others left, yet she was STILL eating comfortably just barely an arm's length away from me. The only raccoons I can think of off-hand who are just as comfortable around me alone as with others are Heidi, Dennis, Fraidy, and Bast. Bast, like Dennis, was one of the very rare ones who would show up alone on a summer afternoon to 'open' the buffet. I had appreciated this about her at the time esp because I wanted to record some of the others, and her presence at the buffet would give them the courage to come out in daylight, too. Bast had even come out on July 4, in daylight and with fireworks.

That the taupe raccoon was so calm while eating so close by me and alone (no others around to help watch and sound the alarm in case of trouble) and w/o Heidi around to provide guidance and even in daylight was not something I could ignore. This very definitely put her in a very, small and elite group. Now my interest was really piqued. Now, for the 1st time, I was actually beginning to think, "Could this BE Bast?" It was the right color, the right pattern, the right body shape. It's hip was a bit strange such that it might have been broken and mended a little off kilter. It's calmness around me put it in a very small inner circle of my closest raccoon friends.

Now I began to really scrutinize the taupe raccoon for signs that it might be Bast. Its hair was unusually dark in a few places where it appeared to have grown in different from the rest of the coat following an injury. These discolored areas appeared on the neck, the shoulder, and the hip - all on the same side. The raccoon was a foot or less from me and in daylight giving me an excellent view of details I might not have been able to see so well in the dark and at a distance.

The foot - OMG! The back foot had 2 mangled toes, both missing the nails, one swollen and misshapen! OMG! This WAS Bast. It had to be. I had so hoped for the chance to see her one more time, just to know that she had survived. When I last saw her she was eating on her own with no assistance from me either to toss her food or to hold the others back for her. She had looked really good such that I had been pretty sure that she would be ok, but seeing her again in the new season would really give me that ultimate sense that she really was back on her feet and moving ahead with her life, that she really had made it past that horrible time in her life. Still, I didn't expect that I would get that opportunity as I was fairly sure that Heidi would not allow her to stay another year - that went against protocol. The irony of which was that if Bast were well enough to give me that sense of confidence that she had made it, she would be too well to need special help and thus to well be welcome at the buffet this year.

Yet here she was. This had to be Bast. There had been evidence all season that Heidi had been sparing off and on with one or more raccoon who had been reluctant to leave the buffet. This raccoon had shown up that day only (so far) and only when neither Heidi nor the Lt nor any of Heidi's other yearlings were around. Yes, this WAS Bast. I had been granted my wish to see her just once so that I could know that she had made it.

A few minutes later, she sat down to do some hygiene stuff, her tummy and private parts facing me. She had several long, curvy scars on parts of her body not readily visible otherwise: a 5-6in one on her chest and a 4in or so one on the inside of one hind leg. The scar on the inside of the hind leg was close to an inch wide over most of its length, a really nasty reminder of the horrible damage to her hind leg but all now healed and looking quite healthy. Yes, this was definitely Bast. There could be two taupe colored raccoons, but there could never be another raccoon with that same pattern of wounds. Swollen teets testified to the kits she had stashed somewhere in the forest. She had survived and was doing well, so well that until I started focusing on her unique color, I didn't even notice any sign of her wounds.

Yayyy!!! Hi, Bast! ^_^

Wonderful to see Bast back with you and well enough to be a nursing Mom. Here story was such a sad one, it's good to have a happy ending.

One of my neighbors, a few houses down from me has been having problems with finding big poop in his yard every day lately and since he has an infant and a todler, decided to set a trap to see what animal was leaving him the "gifts".

Today, he saw me out in the garden and showed me what he had caught. It was a big raccoon. I gave it some water and a little cat food and brought it over a cover for the trap. Neither of us could see nipples, but he called a wildlife rescue worker and she came over and looked at it and said it wasn't a nursing mother, so they took it and released it in a park further outside of town. I have a feeling there are a lot more raccoons in the park across the street from us, so it may not stop the messes in his yard. Here is a shot of the poor scared guy.

Hurray for Bast! She DID make it through the winter! I was doubting that she would ever be back since Heidi probably wouldn't allow it. Great to know that she has been there the whole time.

Susan (lincoln),

Awwh. So sorry about the raccoon. He/she doesn't look to me like the kind that would pooh in the yard. I think they should just let it go. ;-)

Seriously though, not only is it hard to say if this is the one that is leaving droppings, but the leaver of gifts may not even be a raccoon. Just because they caught this 'guy', doesn't mean 'he' is the culprit. There could be many different critters in the yard at night. In my small yard in the city my yard sees dozens of raccoons, opossums, squirrels, and deer, and that's just what I know about. Oh, yeah, and there were some wild hogs here (they came out of the forest one night) before my neighbor put up wire in the edge of the forest on his property and connected it to my fence to block them from coming into the yard. (BTW, the deer have left gifts for me from time to time. The raccoons don't.)

It may sound yucky, but if you could get a picture of the pooh and post it to see if people can help ID it as to type of critter (best to give it its own thread just because there are people who would see it that way who don't read this thread). I've seen that done many times before - and even did it once myself.

If there is one raccoon, there almost certainly are plenty more. Moving that one will almost certainly leave a vacuum that will be filled by another, so you create a homeless raccoon (the one in the trap) and accomplish nothing. It would really be a shame to trap and relocate a number of raccoons only to find that the gift giver wasn't even a raccoon to start with.

I realize, of course, that you are only the neighbor, so there is only so much you can do in this situation.

Marylyn, Susan, and June,

It really was great to see Bast again. She did make it through the end of summer, fall, and winter on her own. After she got well enough to stand upright, walk around, and eat on her own last summer, Heidi apparently sent her packing to save resources for the kits and nursing moms. Then I didn't feed the raccoons at all last winter. Since Bast only showed up again for the 1st time last night, this means she also managed to 'carry' a litter on her own (and feed herself).

Bast was back tonight. Heidi was there, too, and she let Bast eat at the buffet. I figure Bast must have found it difficult to collect enough food on her own to sustain nursing (which takes 2-3x normal diet). That's no biggie since even Heidi and the others have difficulty with that, too. I read somewhere that an adult raccoon travels about a mile each night foraging for food while a nursing female may travel up to 5mi to find enough food. That's rough even for the strongest and healthiest among them. Anyhow, I'm figuring Bast must have managed to convince Heidi to let her come back while nursing.

Again, I think this is a wonderful sign. The fact that she maybe needed help while nursing is no big deal since that's how I met Heidi to begin with. She needed help while nursing, too.

There were 9 raccoons out there tonight. The crowd is getting larger now with so many nursing moms out there. Bast was there from the beginning. While the others were jockeying for positions around the buffet, Bast just walked right through the middle of the area and came right up to me. Normally, Heidi wouldn't let the others walk through the middle area that way, but she didn't say anything to Bast. Bast seems to be getting special treatment still. I'm not sure why. She looks like she is getting around fine, no sign of limping or pain or anything like that. I guess maybe Heidi just knows how hard it is to give birth to and nurse a litter under the best of conditions. (Clearly, Bast remembers how I took special care of her last year.)

Awww, so sweet. I got kind of choked up over the tenderness and wonder of it all.
Yeahhhh Heidi! Yeahhh Bast! Hip Hip hooray for Cheryl and her Raccoon diner!!

That's wonderful news, I'm so glad to hear this!

Dreamofspring - is everything okay? You have not posted about Heidi in a couple of days. I hope you are just enjoying a Memorial Day break and are not ill again. We all enjoy your "tales of Heidi" even if I am not personally fond of raccoons who have been such a problem for me this spring in the garden. Fortunately, for some reason things out there have quieted down and no digging has occurred for about 2 weeks. Maybe they are busy off in some one else's garden (like Peter Rabbit). Hope you are okay.

Hi stillwood,

I'm doing fine. Still fighting with my new pain meds. When I take the old stuff, I have a good deal of pain. When I take the new stuff, I'm basically in a 'coma'. I've been vacillating between the options hoping to get used to the new meds. Otherwise, I'm doing great - you know, except for the pain and the coma. (lol) Thank you very much for thinking of me. I really do appreciate it very much.

Thank you also for your compliments about the Heidi stories. It's a special compliment coming from someone who doesn't particularly care for raccoons. I'm very glad, BTW, to hear that 'your' raccoons seem to have relocated. Let's hope that continues to be the case.

Although the kits have not shown up yet, there have still been a number of very adorable moments out there in Heidi Land, and while I've been taking a bit of a time out from writing recently, I've been careful to take good notes so I don't miss anything. Also, I took additional photos and some video footage. Not sure if any of the video footage is interesting as I've not downloaded it yet to play back. I did get some good photos of Bast though so that everyone can see that she really is back and she really is getting along pretty well - at least well enough to be back to her old no-nonsense, 'don't mess with me' (to the other raccoons) self.

Thank you again for asking. I hope that you are having a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

Thanks, Sheri,

I can't wait to show you pictures of Bast and tell you about some of the very adorable things I've seen on my patio recently (no, not kits. they aren't here yet). Soon.

Thank you, KyWoods,

Isn't it though! I really didn't think that any of us would ever get the chance to see proof of Bast's recovery. Although I was convinced of it based on her condition at the end of last year, still I never dreamed we would actually get to see her again and know for sure. But she is back. She has been at the buffet every day since I reported the 1st siting. I got pics including a few close ups of the foot - for proof.

I find it also encouraging that Bast is back to her old self. Bast, pre-accident, was never one to tolerate much from the other raccoons. She didn't start fights, mind you, but she always stood her ground, and everybody knew to leave her alone. Well, that's the Bast that is back now. I definitely don't have to protect her and her food while she eats now. To me her story is very heartwarming, a story of triumph over tremendous odds.

I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful holiday weekend!

Cheryl - I hope that you can also enjoy your holiday weekend. And that soon you will be walking in victory over your chronic pain issues. Getting those meds regulated and testing the efficacy of new ones is something that I always hated.
Hugs & prayers,
Sheri

Thank you, Sheri!

I know you understand just what I'm talking about.

I am enjoying the holiday. Thanks. : )

last night 2 lil critters woke me up.. i was correct, they do come in the middle of the night... 3 AM to be exact.
I had the windows open as it was cooler... and could hear the plastic [pickle jar] seed bucket rattling... so i got up and saw 2 -- what looked like yearlings, but i can't be sure... it is the middle of the night with very little light.

One was eating out of the bucket.. the other, quietly awaiting it's turn -- which didn't look like it would happen soon... it was even laying down in the hand rail [i;m sure you saw it in one of the pics i posted]

so .... dog food it is.... The one, who was waiting patiently scampered off... so i thought he/she was gone... i put out about 3 sm handful of kibble in a container... rattled it so the coon could hear it [the windows there were open too] and i put it out the door on the seat that is there. He/she couldn't quite get it, so the container was tipped over and a crunching away the critter went. I thought that was the end of it, so i tried to get back to bed...

then i heard the coon drinking out of the container of water i left by the back stoop... silly thing spilled all the water...but i could hear it drinking before it spilled... then the bird feeder was 'sloshed' but not totally tipped like last week... and i have been bringing in the hummer feeder, as that was getting drained every night.... the bird bath is plastic..i may just take the bowl part off the stand and place it on the ground... i did that at home with the concrete one i have.

so... back to bed.... now i hear the BOSS bucket rattling yet AGAIN... so i head back to the front to see both of them back again... one on the ground by the front door, the other one back in the feeder... so here i'm thinking the one has not really had a chance to eat yet... so more kibble... this time about 5 sm handfuls... i rattled the container, so the lil guy knew something was coming... i placed it on the bottom step [there are only 2] out the front door..... from looking out the screen, the lil guy was about 2.5 feet from me... it hopped up on the bottom step and had a nice breakfast.... back to bed i went... 1 hour later!! but they are fun to watch. needless to say, i slept in late today.

Hi, Terese,

It does sound like you had a wonderful time feeding and watching the little fellas. I can feel all the joy and excitement in your words, and having been there, I know the feeling well and am very happy for you. I'm smiling now as I recall some of the early days (or the 1st 3 yrs) when I would make multiple trips back to the house to raid the fridge and pantry to see what else I could offer the adorable little clowns.

Your description of the one spilling the water was enough to convince me that they almost certainly are yearlings. Yearlings go in with the 'bull in a china shop' method trying to get in the dish for a swim even as they are drinking from it - and, yes, I'm serious that they will try to get as many feet as possible in even a 1 pint container. I've seen them manage to stuff 3 feet in there at once, believe it or not. They will invariably end up spilling the water everywhere even if it's a very hot night and that's the only water for miles. Experienced adults like Heidi, on the other hand, know better than to turn the bowl over and spill much needed water - which also explains why Heidi will often (and wisely) refuse to let the yearlings share the occasional dish of water I give her when I forget to clean the pool. She knows all too well that the 'kids' will try to get in the dish and will spill it all too quickly. She drinks the water like an adult. Then, when she leaves, the yearlings can turn it over all they want.

Glad you were able to enjoy such a nice time with your raccoons. The fact that you were able to rattle the dish w/o scaring them away tells me that they are becoming comfortable with you.

Late one afternoon a few days ago I went to the patio door to see if the raccoons had arrived yet, what I saw there was such an adorable site that both the image and the emotion it provoked are still quite fresh in my mind. I would have tried for a photo - would have loved to preserve that moment - except that the raccoon quickly recognized my presence and changed positions.

I will try my very best to describe it here but don't know that I can do justice to it. Imagine yourself or perhaps a child sitting upright on the floor, legs spread apart in a fairly natural manner as if you were going to put together some kind of puzzle on the floor directly in front of your body and within the space created by your open legs. Now bend your knees very slightly so as to form a set of closed parenthesis with your legs, feet about a foot or so apart. Ok, got that image?

Now imagine a yearling sitting in that same position, sitting on the door mat, her back up against the door facing, leaning back slightly against the closed door. That's what I saw when I looked out the patio door. She was just sitting there on her butt like a tiny person, leaning back against the door, her legs apart and bent slightly, just waiting for dinner.

I think one of the things that makes raccoons look so very adorable is that they often move and look for all the world like tiny, furry people, and this moment was no different. She might easily have been a tiny [human] baby sitting there. It was just too cute. Of course, the instant I saw her and thought, "OMG. Where's the camera?" she became aware of my presence and turned around to see me ruining the pose forever.

Do you know who it was... or just a yearling from last year?

and how adorable.

Awww, moments like that make me want to learn to paint...

How precious! uh...it wasn't Precious, was it?
Heidi, oh Heidi...please come out of hiding.
I guess once Heidi returns there won't be any sightings like you described above.
Raccoons are so darned cute! Thanks so much for that mental picture. I have firm grasp of it in my mind now!

Sheri,

No, it wasn't Precious. Precious turned out to be a male. Once the ladies were all nursing and thus competition for food was at an all time high, he was no longer welcome at the buffet - Heidi's orders, not mine. Like all the yearling males' before him, he had become quite disruptive and annoying anyhow. He did actually show up again briefly a few days ago (for the 1st time in ages), but the girls didn't delay in letting him no he wasn't wanted.

It's not just Precious, BTW. Except the sole exception of HRH (in his day), males are never welcome at the buffet in spring and summer. I think the feeling is that since they don't have any kids to look after or anything else to do with their time, they have all day and all night to look for food. The ladies, on the other hand, need all the food they can get to feed themselves and their litters - and hence have little sympathy for freeloading males.

Heidi has BEEN back for a long time now. Remember that last thread, the 1 titled "Long Live The Queen"? I started that thread when she returned. After that she missed the occasional night back when I was feeding them at 10PM. She likes to eat earlier. Lately I've been feeding them in the late afternoon before dark, and she has been there every day.

Glad you enjoyed the image. It was quite adorable, but difficult to describe. Not the sort of position you expect from an animal. Definitely not a position that a cat or dog could pull off. It was a position typically reserved for humans. I think that was a great deal of what made it so adorable to witness.

Ya know..I have been reading about Heidi and her late afternoon visits.
Guess my brain just wasn't all the way awake when I posted that. Duh...

Terese,

No, I don't know which yearling. I have never managed to get past the enormous gap which lies between the end of summer when they are still kits and the following spring when they are young adults. Like most growing kids, they change so very much during that time, and with rare exception, I have found it all but impossible to keep track of whose who when they return. It's a paradox in that I find it difficult to write about their antics as kits w/o naming them, but those 'baby' names end up being temporary, kind of like baby teeth, since I usually can't match them back up with their names when they return as adults the following year - at which point I need to name them all over again.

Some years, like when Heidi only had 3 kits and they were very different in color, I can sort them out pretty well when they return, but when they all look very similar as was the case with the 09 kits, I can't.

June,

It's never to late to start. : )

Sheri,

Thank goodness Heidi is back. Not only because I would be beside myself by now if she had been missing this long but also because their would be total chaos out there now w/o her around to keep those yearlings on their P's and Q's. Luckily, while Heidi was missing, only her 4 kits were allowed at the buffet. Her kits are incredibly well behaved. They are like the sweet, well-behaved, and well raised children who sit quietly and say "Yes, Mam" and "No, Mam".

When other yearlings are allowed to join the group their begins to be a lot of bickering and misbehaving - but only when Heidi is not around. The difference between Heidi's yearlings alone and the larger group which includes other yearlings is quite amazing. When the other yearlings are around and Heidi isn't there to keep them in line, they remind me more of really bad middle school class with a substitute teacher or no teacher at all. Last year when Heidi was gone I actually stopped going out there because I could no longer tolerate those bratty, unsupervised youngsters. But the minute Heidi shows up, the all take their seats and eat quietly.

For a very long time, Heidi managed to keep the size of the group out there very small, and I liked that. Recently, however, the group has grown to considerably. One night I counted 11 raccoons and all of a sudden they are all ravenously hungry. I think it's just that all of the kits are getting pretty large now, large enough to drink tons of milk but not quite large enough to wean. The moms all look totally exhausted. Even the young moms are frequently seen lying down. I can imagine them with a bandanna tied loosely around their hair, sweaty locks falling across their faces. Anyhow, with 11 ravenously hungry nursing moms out there it would be a madhouse w/o Heidi. They all know better than to act up when Heidi is around.

LOL, I like the bad middle school class with a substitute teacher analogy!

LOL, KYWoods,

I did some substitute teaching ages ago - so I know this from experience. I've dealt with both crowds, and they really are quite similar. ;-)

well all i know is after all The Garden Imposable has been through the Good lord must have been in it last Night Garding it cause the coons came Knocken and did not touch a thing not one thing.

I have to run out but could not resist stopping to tell you this 1st. It was one of those 'great' moments in raccoon watching, one of those moments when I wanted that video camera strapped to my forehead.

As I was sitting there today observing the 5 yearling raccoons and Bast as they ate, I suddenly noticed a fairly sizable spider on the grass just inches away from the food of one of the yearlings. The spider was slightly larger than a quarter (US coin). It appeared to be a hobo spider, but I'm no expert in these matters.

I continued to watch, curious how or if the spider's presence might effect the raccoon. The spider, scrambling through the grass, was only about an inch from the edge of the raccoon's small pile of kibble. Then suddenly, I had my answer in an instant as the yearling reached forward with palpable eagerness, scooped the spider up between her two outstretched hands, thrust it into her mouth, and swallowed. Yum. A little extra protein. And that, my friends, was that.

Just the other day I found myself wondering just what all these ravenously hungry, nursing females would normally be eating in the forest this time of year when it's too early to expect to find much in the way of ripe fruits and berries - although now that I think of it, I did see some ripe blackberries in one of my flowerbeds the other day. Still I had great difficulty imagining what on earth they would find in the forest now to feed even one hungry female raccoon let alone this crowd. So now I know. Insects. Spiders. Worms. Larvae. There's rarely a shortage of bugs around here at any time of year. Add in some eggs compliments of the local birds and reptiles alone with a few roots and berries and, wallah, you've got a meal fit for a queen.

One thing I noticed, too, once that raccoon became aware of the presence of that spider, she was determined to have that for a tasty appetizer. I mean, she really wanted that spider. The raccoons, mine at least, all love cat food, but if this one is an example they like spiders WAY more, so when trying to figure out what to offer your furry night visitors, remember that spiders are a big hit.

Hi Sgt,

Nice to have you join us. I see that you only recently signed up with DG. Welcome. If I understand your comment correctly, you are happy that the raccoons didn't raid your garden the other night or at least didn't do too much damage. I'm very happy for you as I know 1st hand how annoying it can be to find your garden plundered by nighttime visitors.

I realize the little bandits can be difficult to say the least. I spent years trying to keep them from raiding my bird feeders before I finally gave in and decided to just enjoy the raccoons. It's the 'if you can't beat them, join them' idea. Of course, I don't have a veggie garden right now.

Anyhow, where I'm going with this is that this thread is dedicated to the enjoyment of raccoons. I feed a group of raccoons, Heidi (an older female) and her extended family. I feed them, name them, observe them, and enjoy my time with them. They know and react to their names. They come each afternoon and sit on the patio to wait very patiently for their dinner. They follow me out to the 'buffet' (back of the yard) walking calmly beside me like pets. I've grown quite fond of some of them.

Most of the readers on this thread love raccoons and enjoy their antics. Many feed raccoons at their homes, too. We welcome you to our group and to Dave's Garden.

OOOH I don’t Hate-em I just don’t want them critters eaten my garden I have turned lose close to 50 in my field in the past 2 years folks were bringing them to me saying they did not want the coon hunters to train the dogs with them and stuff like that . so I got them and lossed them round the house . no big deal but this year I sided to put out a garden since I would be around to fool with it and tend it like I said I gues God was watchen the Garden he has blessed because the lil feller did not bother nothing did not even step on a single plant or through a roll he went to the end of them and walked around every thing like he was shoping at a store or something LOL at least the lil feller had some manners about himself .
; )

This one is not so nice though

Dream - it is wierd for me to say so, but I have actually gotten a little bit worried about those raccoons that I fussed so much about last month. After tearing up my garden several times and ripping up plants, including the earth boxes I had planted, they seem to have stopped coming. I quit putting out extra food for them and reduced the amount of birdseed we put out each morning so that it is mostly gone by night. But there is always a little bit and I expected them to eat that even if they were not getting the extra goodies. But no sign of them - the garden is flourishing - no sign of digging. What has happened to the pesky rascals?

Oooo, pretty snake! Doesn't look friendly, though, lol. I'm told we have copperheads out here but I've never seen one.

Nop not frendly but tasted good on the grill had 8 rattles and a button yep we eat hem and it was good ;>)

stillwood,

I'm afraid I can't answer that about what happened to the raccoons and/or why they aren't coming around lately. This should be peak season for them to be raising their young, so I would expect them to be very hungry. How long have they been missing? If just a week or so, I guess they could be having babies, but it doesn't seem likely that all would be gone at the same time, plus I would think they would have had the babies already before now.

Seems like there are many possibilities. Someone else may be feeding them. If you live in a rural area, someone may have a nice big field of soy beans, corn, melons, grapes, peanuts, etc. There may be a nice pond of fishery nearby. Someone along their route may recently have begun leaving food in a dumpster or garbage bin that is accessible to them. Someone along their route (and much closer to their home than you are) may have recently hung several bird feeders stocked with sunflower seeds along with some hummingbird feeders stocked with nectar. There may be an abundance of some natural food source in the forest right now, something like blackberries or blueberries. Bottom line, they just may be able to fill up elsewhere right now.

My raccoons have disappeared before for short periods of time. At such times it's tempting to think that something bad has happened to them and thus to worry about the little guys (or gals), but if the whole group is missing I try to remind myself that it is most unlikely that something has happened to all of them at one time. If one is missing, it could have been struck by a car, trapped and relocated, or met any number of other nefarious fates, but it's quite improbable that any of these things would have befallen an entire group at once.

When they 1st wake up (hungry for breakfast), raccoons tend to go 1st to the place where they have been successful in finding food recently and thus are most likely to find it again. This time of year, they are most likely to have litters of young kits to care for at home, so they are less likely to keep foraging if they can get a belly full of food somewhere and get back to those babies before a predator does. If you have limited the food available to them at your house and a big food source has appeared elsewhere, they just may not be traveling to your house right now. They will probably be back eventually though as they don't forget a food source and will return to check it again on those nights when they are not able to find food elsewhere.

I think your raccoons are out there somewhere else eating their fill and rushing back home to their babies. I think they will be back in time.

Dream - I just read your postings on the other thread about problems with computers and I had to laugh. You say you "communicate with machines better than with people". Apparently you communicate pretty well with raccoons, cats, and dogs. That sounds okay to me.