Another thing to consider...even if Heidi were to let even a dozen more raccoons stay here (in her area) and come to the buffet for dinner, none of our old favorites (Fraidy, Bast, Dennis, etc) would be among them. Heidi always chooses those who get to stay based on their needs (rather than our preference). The prior year's kits (now yearlings), females only, are always 1st on the list, starting with her own and followed by those of other mothers. After that, if there is sufficient food for additional raccoons, she will allow the 2yr olds to stay and so on.
It makes a lot of sense, if you think about it. The yearling females will be giving birth for the 1st time. They have no idea what to expect, and despite their all to brief 'childhood' training, they are not really ready to handle everything on their own. Among other things, they have never had the experience of trying to find enough food to sustain themselves through nursing. If they can stay here, they will have the benefit of food from the buffet during their 1st year of motherhood, and they will have Heidi around (like a grandma) to help/teach them during this difficult time. Staying here that 1st year greatly improves both their and their kits chances of survival.
Veterans like Fraidy, Dennis, Bast, etc, have been through enough births by now to be able to handle things themselves. As much as I would love to see them, the chance of any of them being allowed to come back now is slim - unless one were to get injured as happened with Bast a few years back. Once Bast became injured, she was allowed to come back here to eat that year and the following year, until Heidi was convinced that she (Bast) could make it on her own again, and then she was sent packing once again.
In the past, some of the others (who were not allowed here) have been known to sneak back in after Heidi has her kits. Heidi is reluctant to fight around her kits when they are very young, and the other raccoons seem to know this. They seem to realize that they may be able to slip back to the buffet while Heidi is tending her infants and unwilling to risk leaving them alone long enough to fight and chase the others away. If we are going to see them, it will be then.
Heidi Chronicles 2012 - A New Chapter Begins?
I'm smiling to myself at the sociological hierarchy you just described. An autocracy!
It sounds as though you and Heidi have settled back into some kind of routine. I would think that the physical contact you have had with her has probably helped her to drop her guard as you describe. She does sound quite tame now. I try to imagine her standing at your back down waving "Hey you! You with the food!!!"
More rain here - cool weather to go with it - on Sunday everybody eats! That was what I told Court today as I put cups of sunflower seed out on every platform, stump, feeder, even on the ground (gasp!). I have said that before on Sundays. Why not. The crow comes everyday and gets kibble as you call it, cat or dog food, hot dogs, bread, saltines, whatever is on hand. :)
There are a few others that are "allowed" but like the racoons, crows are very territorial. I have several baby bunnies flitting thru the yard. I had a cardinal nest in the clematis on the entry fence on the stationary part of the gate. I'm afraid we may have scared them away by coming and going thru the gate despite our best efforts to be non-threatening. :/
I did see Carolina Wrens on one of my bird houses so that's good news. I have stopped letting my dogs and the neighbors' dogs who visit roam thru the yard because we tend to have the rabbits and an occasional possum. It's been quite a long time since I saw a raccoon.
The rats are multiplying, I see some babies, but I try to keep the ground feeding to a minimum - crows only - and that is hand tossed into the next yard where the woman who owns the house is in a nursing home. No one around to object to this critter keeping except a elderly daughter who visits every other week or so, but she has always been good to our dogs and lets us use the giant open yard to run our new giant puppy. I used to feel self-conscious throwing things into the yard, but not so much anymore. :D
Last year when you talked about the cost of feeding I thought about sending you a donation. Broke as I am, I hate to think of anyone going hungry. Then I remember that they know how to live off the land if they have to! Oy.
Keep us posted.
A.
I hate to call another false alarm, but I think there is a very good chance that Heidi is now having her kits for real. She has been AWOL for 3 consecutive nights. She had been looking pretty heavy for a while, not huge like when she was carrying a litter of 5 but way too heavy to be carrying none. I'm guessing 2 or 3 kits. That one night she wasn't here a while back, I figure we just passed in the night, showing up at different times. This time I've made 2-3 trips to the door each night to check for her, early and late. All I find out there is her daughter, that one yearling that has been accompanying her all along, AND one other raccoon, one that is not supposed to be here - remember how I said that others sometimes slip in when she is with her newborns. They do this almost every year. They know when she is busy giving birth and unable to show up to toss them out.
Because of the extra one out there, they (the daughter and the outsider) are out there every night growling and arguing and barking at the back door and outside the MBR where they keep Widget all upset. Even when I give them each a separate spot of food, still they argue and fight. Reminds me of that one year when Heidi was gone for a week or two, and the rest of the crowd at the buffet was acting up so bad I decided not to feed them at all until she returned. That year they reminded me of a pack of middle school kids with a substitute teacher. They were very rowdy and very annoying. That year I could really see the extent to which Heidi's mere presence keeps them in order. As soon as she was gone, they all started acting crazy, like a bunch of college kids on spring break in Miami or something.
Anyhow, I'm pretty sure she is with her new kits now. If that's where she is, then I would expect them to arrive here in mid to late June. Some of the others will bring their kits out sooner, but Heidi usually waits until hers are about 2mo old before bringing them to the buffet.
Whoopee!! Newborn kits!!
Awwww.... time for a baby shower?
let's see....what does Heidi like?? Eggs, Vanilla wafer coshe will need poteiokies, Jellies, suryp, etc from fast food joints .........hmmm...chicken. chicken soup, cottage cheese? I wonder it she would smell and unwrap her gifts ?!? ;-D
Hi Sheri,
Heidi will only eat a subset of what the others enjoy. Her list is fairly small, besides kibble she likes: eggs (raw), watermelon (from rind bowl only), grapes (preferably red/dark), peanuts (unsalted in shell), syrup, jam (also jelly, preserves, etc), hummingbird nectar, sugar water, and canned frosting.
She doesn't eat cookies of any kind, but she loves cookies as a delivery system for a giant blob of frosting. Likewise, she loves frosting on cupcakes, cake, even a slice of bread (those frosting party sandwiches I used to serve at the buffet). She doesn't actually eat the cookie, cake, bread, etc, but she loves to lick frosting off of them. She also enjoys licking the bowl (or can).
That's about it for Heidi, although I'm sure there must be something I've forgotten.
I gave her some of my grapes one day, and I've been giving her one egg every day or so recently. There is a short story about how she let me know she wanted eggs. I'll tell it soon when I get a chance.
Well hey, Cheryl. This is welcome news. Funny about the others acting out when she's not there. I guess most animals that travel in packs have some sort of hierarchy. I wonder if there are studies about raccoons.
On a sort of similar note, I found something odd growing in one of my beds today when I was weeding. A large seed atop the seedling which I had never seen before. Court speculated that it was a persimmon from last year's possum visitors, and after perusing photos of possum scat online he confirmed that it was a persimmon seed. :D
Ha ha ha - I love it when they give back.
Hope all's well. Take good care.
A.
Hi A,
How nice is that?! A thank you gift from the opossums. I've never heard of that happening before, but no reason it couldn't. Raccoon scat is often made up almost entirely of seeds (cherry, choke cherry, blackberry, grape, and so on depending on what's bearing at the moment), but in most cases they use established latrines. Birds are well known for their contributions to the seeding of yards and gardens, but they are more inclined to plant things you don't want where you don't want them (trees in flower beds, wildflowers in the lawn, etc. At my house they are famous for planting blackberries and grape vines in flower beds!). Congrats on that persimmon seed. Hope it grows into a very nice persimmon tree.
I think what we know about raccoons is very limited and sometimes incorrect. We discussed this some in prior threads back when Ruth (spartacusaby) was with us and we benefited from her experience in animal control and raccoon rehab. The nocturnal lifestyle of raccoons makes it inconvenient to study them. (I used to sit at the forest edge in the darkness at 10PM and later awaiting their arrival, for instance.) To further complicate the problem, their status as a known vector for the deadly and incurable disease of rabies causes governments and municipalities to strongly discourage all contact with them. These and other such problems, no doubt, contribute to the general lack of knowledge of the species.
I didn't start out planning to do any of this, but I've observed some things over the years that seem to defy accepted knowledge along with other things that appear to add to it; however, mine is an artificial environment, and it's unclear to what extent that may have altered behaviors. (I think the effects of the artificial environment here are fairly limited. I think the underlying behaviors and societal structure had to exist beforehand.)
In my yard, I see very definite indications of a societal structure among the raccoons. They may well sleep on separate tree limbs much as we humans live in more or less separate homes, but from what I've seen they appear to interact much like a community - like a community of mostly related individuals as often occurred with humans in rural settings back when travel was extremely limited. I don't think they live together like pack or herd animals, but I do think they maintain relationships and a hierarchy. This hierarchy appears to be a matriarchy led by a single, prominent female.
According to accepted knowledge, raccoons are NOT group animals and do not travel in groups. Current literature on the subject and 'experts' alike tell us that raccoons are extreme loners; that male and female interact only long enough to get the job done; and mothers interact with kits just long enough to raise them and send them out on their own. Accepted knowledge tells us that males play no part in the rearing of young and that their interactions with females is strictly limited to a quick, spring courtship.
My observations fly in the face of all of this. I do believe that raccoons are somewhat more independent relative to herd animals like horses and the like, but, as indicated above, I do also believe they maintain a community of sorts made up mostly of related individuals. My observations also indicate that some males may actually play some part in protecting their offspring. We saw very clear indications of this with HRH, the large, old, and very sweet male that hung out with the group the 1st few years. We suspect that he may have been deposed by a younger, stronger male at some point. Since then the ladies appear to be living more like 'experts' indicate, cavorting with males during spring courtship rituals ONLY. These young adult males do not appear to be trusted around the young. They are strictly forbidden to hang out with the females and/or come to my yard. Back when I was providing a veritable smorgasbord nightly, I observed females ganging up on and ousting any young male who tried to eat from the 'buffet'. Apparently, only the rare, very mature and extremely trusted male such as HRH is allowed to hang out with the females, share their food, and interact with the kits.
I've also seen very distinct evidence of cooperative behavior as the females gang up to fight and drive out a single male and also to enforce rules about who is and isn't allowed at the buffet. Heidi, as the leader, seems to determine which individuals may stay and which must go. When the group is large (as in prior years), a handful of chosen henchmen help to enforce these rules. I could watch as Heidi signaled them to go after an intruder and her 4 or 5 'right hand men' headed to different points along the fence to forbid an intruder access.
These are but a handful of things I observed that fly in the face of accepted knowledge. It took a year or two of sitting out there with them almost every night, but the raccoons eventually accepted me into their world such that I was able to witness behaviors that most people probably don't see, things like mothers playing with their young children in the moonlight after dinner or mothers gathering their youngsters and leading them to a particular corner of the yard for a lesson in things like digging for insects and locating turtle eggs.
Yeah, you've got some good stuff there. I would tend to think that the artificial environment and single point source of food has something to do with your observations about the group behavior. Doubtless, it does not exist in good and plenty out there in your urban woods.
When I get back to doing my research and motivated for school and thesis and masters' degree I will see what current literature exists on the raccoons in the academic literature.
Got distracted by seedlings and full sun. Hope all is well and Heidi comes out okay.
A.
Heidi came back last night. What was that, 4 days AWOL? Glad she came back in a reasonable time this year - unlike the year she was away for 2wks, and we all started to imagine her demise. She was noticeably thinner, so much so that I had difficulty recognizing her at 1st, something which often occurs when she 1st comes back from giving birth. My brain was totally confused by seeing Heidi's face on what looked for all the world like the body of her yearling daughter. I kept vacillating between the 2 ID's: Heidi, no, yearling. No, Heidi. Yearling...
As soon as I stepped out onto the patio mat, all confusion ended as she rushed up to within inches of my body and began alternately standing upright then down, then up, then down. This is something she has only begun doing in the past year or so. None of the others do this. None of the ones here now are even comfortable so close to me. I've never been totally sure what this up/down thing means. My guess is it's something along the lines of, "Yippee!!! Dinner! Yay. I'm so excited. Can't wait. Give me a bite. Oh, yayyyyyy!" Something like that.
She get super close to me when doing this, so much so that when she 1st began doing it, I felt considerably vulnerable having such a capable gladiator as Heidi suddenly bouncing up and down only inches from my body/hands. She does this amazing balancing act, alternately going up and down in front of me and so close and does it all while simultaneously walking backward so that she always remains the same distance from me even as I am walking forward - and she never ever touches me or the food bag. The whole thing is really quite impressive.
When she 1st began doing this - and remember, Heidi has always been the adult, sedate one - I thought she was trying to grab the food bag away from me as Dennis sometimes tried to do. (Remember Dennis & me playing tug-a-war with the bag of grapes until the bottom broke loose and the grapes all rained down on the ground? Remember Dennis getting worse and worse, like an out of control child, until I finally popped her on the head with the flat of my hand one day? Remember how that firm but light smack on the head actually became the thing that worked to get Dennis to behave? I miss those days, don't you?) But, Heidi never touches the bag. It's clear she is not trying to harm me or steal the food or anything like that. She really just seems to be expressing her delight at seeing the food arrive.
On some level this feels good to me, because for all these years Heidi has always been such a 'rock', always calm, always quiet, always on her best behavior, always in complete control, almost stern. It feels good to see her let loose and finally express herself a bit. Among other things it seems to indicate how very comfortable she is now, comfortable enough to be herself.
When I put the end of the bag to the patio and begin trying to pour the food, Heidi settles down immediately, crouching on all floors in front of the spot that will be her 'dish' as soon as the food begins to pour. Sometimes I have difficulty determining just how high to tip the bag to get the food to flow without dumping 1/2 the bag out all at once. When this happens and the kibble is caught up in the bag with nothing coming out, Heidi calmly sits back on her haunches like a squirrel and reaches into the bag with her two hands to gently coax the food out. She doesn't grab the bag and try to take it from me or anything like that. She just tries to help me out. She knows how we do this, knows the food is supposed to flow out onto the patio. When it doesn't, she can see the food sitting there in the bag in front of her, so she sticks her hands in the bag to help move it along. It's really quite an adorable thing to see.
I gave her an egg on each of two consecutive nights before she went AWOL and again when she returned. She cracked the eggs, and gobbled them up even before finishing her kibble. With Heidi that is always a good sign that she likes/wants an item, since she normally finishes her kibble before eating anything else.
The yearling daughter has not been with her since she returned. This is quite normal. Before the kits arrive she will be friendly with one or more of her yearlings, but once the new kits arrive, they are her whole world, and she has nothing to do with any of the others for a while. I did feed the yearling a time or two while Heidi was away, but I haven't seen her around since Heidi returned.
Ahhhh - welcome back Heidi. :)
Thanks for the update Cheryl. I'm trying to envision Heidi doing a moonwalk in front of you while clapping her hands. It sounds like a car commercial I've seen before.
I am smelling jasmine blooming outside the window and there is a nice breeze. I am getting too tired for this, but I can't tear myself away.
Had to chase Edgar or one of his crow cronies away from a baby robin in the park yesterday. The bird was a fledge so thankfully it flew away after about 10 minutes, but the neighborhood was in an uproar! If I don't get out when they are calling for me very early, I am afraid there will be more baby birds taken than if they all had a full belly of kibble. :/
It's either the crows or the hawks, I'm afraid. I'd rather have raccoons. :D
xox
A.
Liz,
I forgot to mention it earlier, but I think you are right. Definitely time for the baby shower. Let's see, I think we need blue & pink crepe paper, party hats, party favors...oh, the heck with that stuff. What we really need is a cake. I've got the perfect idea for the cake. I'll make a single cupcake and then cover it all the way around and on top with enough strawberry (their favorite) canned frosting to make it the size of a normal cake. That will be the perfect cake for Heidi - and anyone she invites. I need to pick up some things from the store 1 day this week. I'll get the frosting then.
On second thought, I wouldn't want Heidi to eat so much frosting that she feels sick. Maybe I'll just give her a single cupcake with a large dollop of frosting on top. I'll put the remaining frosting in the freezer, can and all. After the kits are old enough to come to the house, I'll make them all cupcakes and let Heidi lick the can, something she always enjoyed. While I'm at the store, I'll see about getting a watermelon for us to share. I'll eat the middle/heart and give Heidi the outer, bowl-shaped rind with a few inches of melon remaining, scooped and mounded into the rind along with lots of melon juice just the way she likes it. That will be a party/celebration for us both, because I love watermelon, too.
You know, I have some heavy, whipping cream in the fridge. If it's still good I might try making some whipped cream frosting, sweet but not too sweet, and give Heidi some to see if she likes it. She deserves a special treat. Thanks for the idea.
That's fun! :)
Yes, Yes...and with some pictures of the party mom!!!
So glad that Heidi's back & looking spry! Do you think the yearling might be watching her babies while Heidi comes to get food? We did see some evidence of "nanny" behavior at one time? Pink watermelon, pink frosting - I see girl babies in the future. :-)
wonderful... more Kits to come.
and it really is amazing how comfortable a 'wild' raccoon feels around you.
love the Shower cupcake idea.
Oh, and just wait until you hear this...
It used to be that I fed Heidi (and the others) if they were at the back door and otherwise walked away. Now, roughly 1/2 the time (or more) when I go to the patio door, there are no raccoons to be seen anywhere. I open the door, look around, and then call out (not too loudly) "Heidi, Heidi". There is still no sign of her or any of the others, so I close the door and go about my business. I make sure to return in 2 or 3 minutes, 5 at most, by which time Heidi is virtually always sitting on the outside mat with her face pressed up close against the glass panel of the patio door.
I'm guessing she gets tired of sitting on the patio and goes back to the forest edge where she probably sits on a low tree branch. I'm sure she feels much safer waiting back there in the forest where she doesn't feel vulnerable to neighborhood dogs, cars, and neighbors slamming doors or calling out to each other. (The barking dogs can't get into the backyard due to the 6ft privacy fence, but Heidi doesn't know that.)
Unlike that one time when she waited elsewhere in the backyard, Heidi can't just come running across the yard when she's waiting in a forest tree. It takes her a couple minutes to climb down the tree trunk and navigate the fence. But somehow she & I have now reached the point at which we can coordinate things in this manner. She has somehow managed to communicate to me (and I'm not sure exactly how it 1st happened) that she will be waiting back there and will come if I call her name. Because it takes her a couple minutes to get from the tree to the patio, I would normally have given up and left by then, but somewhere along the way she managed to teach me to come back in a few minutes after calling. I've done it many times, and it works almost every time. I call her, then go to the kitchen to check something, and when I return a minute or two later, she will be there waiting. It's always too cool to see her face there against the glass every time.
Unbelievable to see how far Heidi has come from the wild animal she once was... and how intuitively you both communicate with each other!
Yay! Baby time! Been a way a few days and come back to the good news.
Which one was it that used to love the marshmello peeps so much?
Debbie
Liz,
I really never expected that Heidi would get this comfortable with me. Don't get me wrong. She's not climbing in my lap yet like Dennis used to do - but then again, I'm not sitting down outside like I used to either. Still, when I'm stooping down to pour her food, she comes right up to my knee like a pet. I can touch her a little bit. Usually, when I reach out to her, she touches her nose to my hand or fingers for what seems a longer interval than expected. By that I mean, she holds her nose against my skin for a full minute or two instead of bumping her nose to me and then moving it away again quickly.
I think that calling and waiting 2 or 3 minutes started one night when I called to see if she was somewhere in the yard. When she didn't come scampering across the yard right away, I gave up and went back into the kitchen to finish my work. A minute or so later I just happened to pass the door and was surprised to see her face pressed up against the bottom panel. I wasn't sure if that was a coincidence, so I tried it again the next time I looked for her outside and she wasn't there. Each time, I would call her and then come back in a minute or two (just because waiting bores me), and probably 9.5 times out of 10, there she would be standing face against the door). On the very rare occasion when she doesn't show up a couple minutes after I call, I gather she really isn't close by.
...but, yes, we have come a long way she & I, a very long way from those 1st days when I would walk up close to the fence to toss a [cornstarch] bag of food over the fence for her, all the while terrified that she might jump from some limb onto my back and scratch the life out of me. Seriously. In the beginning, I think I was clearly more afraid of her than she was of me. So, maybe it isn't so much that Heidi has become comfortable around me as it is that I have become comfortable around her. :-D
Hi Debbie,
Good to see you back again. There were a number of them that loved those Peeps. I think that was back when we had Dennis and Sissy and maybe even Fraidy. I would have to find it in the threads to be certain exactly who it was, but for the most part, I think they all loved Peeps, except Heidi. Heidi has always kept to a very strict diet. She eats mostly healthy foods like kibble, eggs, fruit, nuts - and, well, frosting. Everybody is entitled to one vice. Right?
Generally, she finishes her kibble (dinner) before eating anything else, unless it's something she needs to eat sooner to keep the others at bay (like watermelon and sometimes eggs). Also, she will usually limit herself to only 2 foods per meal, 3 at the very most; thus I have learned there is no use in taking out all of her favorites at once as she will not eat them all like a giant smorgasbord. I gather with age she has learned that mixing too many foods per meal makes for a nasty tummy ache. The younger ones, yearlings and 2yrs olds, will eat their fill of everything offered them, so clearly they haven't had the giant tummy ache yet.
Anyhow, when I mentioned Heidi's very short list of 'likes' above, understand that she keeps to a very strict diet. The others love many things which she won't touch, things like s/w cookies, animal cookies, vanilla wafers, Apple Jacks cereal, marshmallows, cake, you name it - and, yes, Peeps. Peeps were a big hit.
Late this afternoon I went to the back door to let Widget out & was shocked to see Heidi sitting there. It was very light out, very early for her to be there. I guess she was just too hungry to wait any longer. She was sitting flat on her butt, the way a person might sit on the floor, one leg propped up in the air with knee bent, foot on the patio, the other leg bent and lying over sideways with the outside of the leg on the floor and heal up close to the body. That seems to be the lactating mom pose. Not sure why, but they always seem to sit that way around this time, and for many of them this is the only time they are seen sitting that way. I guess for one thing it lets them do some checking and grooming while they are waiting for me to show up - and while they are away from the kits.
As I mentioned, I was on my way to walk Widget when I saw Heidi sitting there. Before I could grab him, Widget also saw Heidi. He ran up to the door, stood up to see out the bottom panes, and started barking at her. Heidi got up and headed behind the shrubs to hide. Without really thinking about what I was doing, I called to her, "Heidi, Heidi." I guess I just wanted her to know that everything was ok. To my amazement, she stopped, turned around (on her way to hide), and came back to the door - even though Widget was still there barking at her through the glass.
I picked Widget up, put him away, and took her some food. As soon as I got out on the patio, I saw that Kitty was nearby wanting to get into the house, except that now that I had stepped outside, Heidi was doing her dance (moonwalk. I like that) in front of me and we were very close to the door. As you may recall, Heidi & Kitty are sworn enemies. Each seems to see the other as a threat to her territory and probably the food I provide. Heidi was doing her 'moonwalk' in front of me only about 2ft from the door, too close for Kitty to feel at all comfortable trying to get past her to get inside.
I wish you could have seen this as I know I will never be able to describe it properly mostly because it was almost all invisible cues and body language, but I managed to tell Heidi (gently) to back up - and she somehow understood and walked over behind the camellias - and then call Kitty while holding the door ajar and at the same time continuing to signal to Heidi to stay back there where she was behind the shrubs. Both of them actually understood me and worked with me. The 3 of us communicated like a well honed circus act. Kitty went around to the other side of the patio and then behind me to go through the door into the house. Then I called Heidi to come back, and she dutifully came right back in front of me where she resumed her moonwalk as if nothing had happened. It all went off so beautifully, it was as if for that brief moment we all spoke the same language.
I said, "Ok, you go over there, so she won't be afraid, and you go here and then you come back..." and they did it all perfectly, as if we had practiced. Since Heidi had been such a good sport, agreeing to give Kitty some space - even though she doesn't like Kitty - I went back inside and got her an egg. Right now, lactating and having just given birth, Heidi seems to really need that extra shot of protein and calcium. She gobbles those eggs up as soon as I give them to her. I probably didn't mentioned this, but I walk right up to her, squat down by her food, and set the egg down (on her side of the pile of food even) and then walk back inside. She stays in her spot eating now while I do that. It was only a few years ago that I had to roll the eggs across the lawn to her. Remember that? Between rolling eggs with enough force to reach their destination w/o breaking and tossing cookies to shy yearlings back by the fence, my aim got really good in those days (I should have taken up golf, bowling, and/or baseball back then.)
. . . all the while thinking "no one is going to believe me when I tell them this . . .. " :D
Exactly what I was thinking Amanda!
They have been friends for so long that I think we all believe it instantly.....outsiders; maybe not....I remember that guy you used to work with that wasn't at all pleasant about Heidi - he might have thought that you were delusional (when all along it was He that was/is. LOL)
Hi June,
No, that guy didn't doubt the story. He was a close colleague, someone I worked with daily back then, and he knew me to be very responsible, not one to make up tall tales. Also, I came with photos. Back then the big deal was that I was feeding them cookies and cupcakes and such, a few by hand even. I had plenty of photos (& videos even) of that stuff. The things that are going on now are a little more difficult to document that way.
That guy didn't have a problem believing the story. He just believed, as do way too many people, that raccoons are mean and aggressive. He didn't like raccoons - or any other animals as far as I could tell - and he thought the whole idea of feeding raccoons was stupid. Oh, and he was very vocal about his opinions. He was always telling me, "Just you wait. One day they will turn on you and scratch your eyes out, and I'll be saying, 'I told you so'."
He volunteered back then at the city aquarium and at Charlestowne Landing. Before you start thinking, "Oh, what a nice guy, blah, blah, blah...," I should mention that his reasons were less than altruistic. He did it to meet girls. Every time the topic came up, he would tell stories of using armadillos like bowling balls. He said no matter how they snarl and look menacing when you approach them, as soon as you pick them up they roll up into a tight ball. He said he liked to 'bowl' with them, said they remain tightly rolled until they think you have gone, then they relax slightly, take a peak and either walk away or roll back up quickly depending on what they see. What a sweet guy.
What can I say. I don't get to pick my coworkers. That's the customer's job - or now the boss' job. I just have to try to work with them. Unless people are entirely awful, I try to find some common ground and get along. Actually, he had his good side. He was always incredibly mannerly and the perfect gentleman - around me, at least, and I could always count on him to do gentlemanly things: give up his seat for me, run errands for me, and otherwise behave in a very kind manner.
We were working at a military installation back then. I often wore heavily insulated headphones (no music) just to block out all sound and insure a quiet environment in which to think. One day someone came rushing through our lab area saying, "Bomb threat, get out immediately!" Because of the headphones, I didn't hear her. Everyone else ran for the exit. I continued working. That guy actually remembered that I wore headphones and turned around to come back and get me. I looked up, saw people scrambling but really didn't think much of it. I saw him turn around and come back to tell me. He could be a jerk where animals were concerned, but it's difficult not to appreciate someone who would come back for you when the building could blow up any moment. (The moment I heard the 'b' word, I dropped everything and headed out. I didn't even take the extra 2 seconds to get my purse to take with me. I spent the rest of the day standing on the grass across the parking lot from the building thinking how if the building did blow I would not even have keys with which to drive home - or get in my house. Luckily, the building didn't blow. Still, I remain indebted to him for turning around on his way to safety to come back for me.
I know you guys are kidding - er, I think - but which part of the story seems incredible? That I can call Heidi? That I was able to choreograph things with Heidi and Kitty to get Heidi to move back a bit and Kitty to come inside? Something else? Just curious.
It's all true. I've always kept to the facts. My opinions and musings are always couched as such. My observations are always recorded just as I saw them. I'm something of an 'over the top' person, hyperbole personified. If I were going to make up something, it would be something big, something fantastic, something like, oh, like being a French man pursing a PhD in a Paris university, something like that.;-D
No no - Cheryl I think you misunderstood my comment - I hope you know that at least between you and me - (and your recent crackpot story) I am not doubting that you have an intimate relationship with these critters.
I was just thinking that if it were me and no one was around to witness it, someone might have a hard time believing that I could command raccoons and cats both to do what I wanted withing close quarters. I sometimes preface or follow up MY stories with the phrase, "I DON'T MAKE THIS S*** UP!!!"
Anyway. I think it's incredible and someone unfamiliar with you or your critters might have a hard time believing you...
(these are the thoughts that would be going thru MY head).
xox
A.
Again, what Amanda said. I have no doubt that your experience is real.... I was just imagining you telling an acquaintance & having that thought. We're believers; we're not "normal/average" people that you speak to... :-)
Yeah, What AmandaEsq and lizzipa said!
To outsiders - the incredible and impossible to believe part has to be that you are touching and talking to and generally interacting with animals that they have been told all of their lives are vicious and rabid. I know better as my DDad and my FIL had them as 'neighborhood pets' at different times of my life - something that some well-meaning friends told me was impossible. Now the French man would have been almost believable if I hadn't anticipated your posting on April Fools Day... ^_^
Awwww geez.
I'm in trouble here. You know there are rodents in the yard, and that they pass thru the property by going around the foundation of the house. I put my head down on the floor at one of the a/c vents this morning and held my breath to listen. :/
The giant puppy didn't know what I was doing and his heavy breathing and big nose and long lips weren't helping, but I heard it, yes I did. :(
Time to adopt a feral cat colony.
I found something online called Shake-Away that looks promising. I can't kill anything you know, and the thought of how to cope with this has sort of plunged me into the depths.
http://www.critter-repellent.com/rats/test/rats-test-house-attic.php
Will keep you posted, but I guess no more feeding. It's that time of year.
Hugs and happy Friday to all.
A.
A,
I wish I could tell you otherwise, but if you suspect the rats have gotten into your crawl space or otherwise infiltrated the house, it is most definitely time for action. If you are not thoroughly convinced yet, NatGeo or Science has a 1hr segment they run now and then. The name is something like "The Genius of Rats" or "Rat Intelligence". If you have the ability to set up a DVR request based on search terms, I would recommend doing so. It's a 1hr show that will really knock your socks off and let you know what you are up against and why you should declare all out war.
Keynotes are...if undeterred (no predators, traps, etc), in one year 2 rats will become some 3000. Now if you figure how many possible sets of 2 there are in 3000, you can see where this exponential growth is going the next year and the next. They are extremely intelligent and worthy adversaries. Researchers have determined that they can even open the fridge, help themselves to its contents, and escape leaving little if any clues behind (most fridge doors close automatically, you know). They can easily hold their breaths long enough to travel through plumbing to arrive in your toilet bowl.
They chew for the pleasure of it. Their teeth grow at such a rapid pace that they need to chew almost constantly to keep them filed down - so the lower canines don't grow through their jaw/skull. Chewing feels good to them. They can chew through almost anything, even metal if given the time - and if given enough time, they will chew their way into your house, where you absolutely don't want them. They are not afraid to live in your house. As a species they have done well living with and around humans. If you have a system of gutters and drain spouts, note that they use these like a sort of interstate highway for getting around the exterior of the home w/o being picked off by hawks and such.
They particularly enjoy chewing on electrical wires like in cars and houses. Even if you don't own the house, there is a bigger danger to worry about - fire due to chewed/exposed wires is a very real danger. Finding and fixing chewed wires is very costly, time consuming, and disruptive. Much, much better to avoid them to begin with. Oh, and, as you no doubt know, rats carry numerous illnesses to which humans are susceptible. Plague and one of the hemorrhagic fevers are just the start. No matter how much you hate to kill things, this is war. The consequences of keeping them around are just to big.
I hate to kill things, too. I started with that Shake-Away product. I didn't have any success, unfortunately. Rats are a much more determined and skilled opponent than that. Your house is a perfect abode for them. It provides protection from predators, a great place to raise a family or 10, 000, a good food supply, warmth in winter, lots of great stuff to chew on, and so on.
Today's rat poisons are extremely dangerous - plus I could not get the rats here to even taste it. It attacks the brain and nervous system, and their is NO antidote in case of accidental poisoning of children or pets. Unlike the stuff of yesteryear, it doesn't cause those that eat it to leave in search of water. Thus they die in the walls somewhere.
Due to their exponential population growth, you need to take them out fast. If you get sufficiently motivated, there are two products that come highly recommended. One is a battery powered, rectangular housing, open on one end, with a metal plate they have to cross to reach the food inside. When they do so, they are electrocuted. Many people on DG sing the praises of this one, but it didn't work that great for me. My rats were outside still, not a great place to leave an electric device. Also, the raccoons quickly learned to turn it on end to dump the food out for their enjoyment, rendering it useless. If you have them in an attic or crawl space, it may work well for you - except that you will need to rig up a mechanism to let you know when you have caught one, as you need to reset it.
The thing that worked extremely well for me is rather medieval, but it works so well I caught/killed several the 1st evening before bed. It's called Tomcat. Unlike traditional rat traps, the ingenious design is such that they do not get away. No stealing the food and sneaking off. If you have reached the point of desperation, here is a link: http://www.amazon.com/Motomco-Tomcat-Snap-Trap-33525/dp/B001AZJK46/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1336159281&sr=8-4
Sorry if you find this distasteful. I tried the live and let live route, too. I eventually realized it was them or me, my house, my car...good luck.
I'll be back later to address the other subject, but, no worries. We are all good. ;-)
Amanda, I've got a feral cat at work, who I've been feeding for a couple of years - when my brother (who lives in Greensboro) comes out next month, he could bring her back to you. :-) Of course, I'm joking (not about the brother in Greensboro) - if I thought she'd adapt, I'd bring her home, but she's too happy here... Not to imply that rats are a joking matter. Good Luck - hope Cheryl's (unfortunate) experience comes in handy. I couldn't kill anything either, except snails or ant sized critters. I think an exterminator may be in order (if that's within your budget).
This message was edited May 4, 2012 2:22 PM
Thank you ladies. Court has inspected the basement and it is unfinished so it's easy to see straight thru to the foundation walls. No sign of them in the basement. If they are passing thru the space I heard them in, it is a concrete addition/foundation that has absolutely no entryway! They must have built themselves into a corner and crawled out of the crawl space and built the floor over it!
There are 2 metal grates that have trap doors on them which I have pulled shut from the outside. Court says there are a couple sealed shut from the inside.
I lived in a house with a friend up in MA several winters ago when I was teaching in Boston. We tried for months to capture rats. They were in the house. She and her daughter (daughter lived upstairs with her 2 adult children) were opposed to killing them. They had had pet rats and were freaks like me to the Nth degree. I caught many baby rats and released them away from the house at parks/in the woods to fend for themselves. Only managed to catch 1 adult, and even then, it got away when we tried (HA!) to transfer it to a bigger cage/container. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
Thanks for the advice. I am leaving this problem to Court. We are aware of the "what ifs". Not keen on it. Hope they will get. They are not in the house and won't be - we have cats and dogs both inside.
Thanks also Lizzi - HA - for the offer of a feral cat - I'm sure I could round up several right in my neighborhood. ;)
Hope your brother has a safe trip.
Those kits must really be growing fast (and eating a lot) right now. Tonight I gave Heidi and her yearling daughter each about 2cups of food as I usually do. A little while later I was heading to the kitchen and decided to check on them. I figured they would be through eating by that time but, recalling a time when Heidi had waited at the door for seconds after finishing her food, I thought I would check on her.
Heidi was gone - or so it seemed. She wasn't at her spot, and her food was all gone. Then I saw the yearling sitting off to one side as though waiting for something. Thinking the yearling must still be hungry, I went to get the left over polenta I had been meaning to put out. I returned with the polenta and opened the door to find the real reason the yearling was waiting - Heidi, having finished her own food, was over there eating the yearling's food while the yearling sat well off to one side watching.
That's Heidi's daughter, but I'm guessing when Heidi finished her own food and was still hungry, she figured the 'kid' was young and had plenty of energy to run around the forest looking for food. 'Grandma', on the other hand, was getting a bit old for all that...
Heidi still had a cup of the yearling's food left (and was still eating). From the slightly ODC manner in which the food had been neatly eaten around all edges leaving a very tidy pile (from which she was still eating) it was clear Heidi had been eating from this particular pile of food for awhile now, long enough to get it into this very tidy shape so characteristic of her eating habits. The yearling sampled the polenta I put out, but decided to wait in case Heidi happened to leave any of the kibble. (She would eat the polenta later.)
I was amazed at Heidi's enormous appetite. While I was out there she had issued a few of those grumbling, snorting sounds to remind the yearling, "Hands Off!" She had eaten her own 2 cups of food and about 1/2 of the yearling's food by this time. I went back inside and got her (Heidi) an egg and a small bunch of grapes (the last of my grapes). By the time I returned with the extra food, she had almost finished the roughly 1 cup of the yearling's food she had a minute or so earlier - and was still eating. I walked over and gave her the egg and the grapes. She sniffed each and continued eating the last of the kibble.
I doubted Heidi would actually eat the grapes (in addition to 3cups kibble and an egg) but offered them anyhow, figuring the youngster would be happy to finish off anything Heidi didn't consume. A few minutes later when I looked out there again, Heidi had finished the kibble and the egg and was polishing off the last few grapes, sitting upright and holding the tiny bunch in one hand to pick off the grapes with her other hand much as a human might do. Wow. That 'lady' had one ginormous appetite tonight. It was hard to imagine where she had even put all that food.
The yearling was still sitting patiently and waiting well off to one side. I tossed a couple of hard rolls out there and left. The youngster might prefer the kibble, but she would eat the polenta and rolls. With whatever kibble she managed to eat before Heidi ran her off, the corn (polenta) and bread would provide sustenance (energy) enough to keep her lactating through another day. Some days we eat steak. Some days left overs.
Back at the house, I remembered the watermelon I had picked up earlier in the day. Heidi and I (and maybe the yearling) would both enjoy that soon, tomorrow perhaps. Tomorrow I would try increasing Heidi's food a bit, at least while she was lactating.
Good GAH!
How the heck is she going to get back over the fence?! :D
ROTF, A,
You should have seen Heidi climbing the fence back when she was carrying 5 kits, looking like a beach ball with a head, and about to give birth any day. Some nights I didn't think she was going to make it. She would get a little past 1/2 way up the post when the load would shift and sway, and it would look like she was going DOWN any minute. And she would slow down noticeably as she neared the top, like when you struggle to take the last few steps on a long course of stairs (several floors). She always made it over the top, but it was close.
And watching her descend the post when she was the human equivalent of 8 and 3/4 mo along and carrying 5 was worse. That was really scary. The climb down head 1st which is fine when they are normal weight, but when they have 5 extra raccoons on board, OMG. Terrifying. A few steps down the post the load shifts and she starts to swagger. You just know any minute you are going to see her and 5 little ones lying at the bottom of the fence looking like Humpty Dumpty. She always made it though - at least while I was watching. Sometimes she jumped down from about 1/2 way though.
A time or two (while not 'with kit') I gave her a complete watermelon 1/2, full size, usually one that I didn't like the texture or flavor of. She loves watermelon. She would try her best to eat the whole thing. I would marvel at how much she could put away. Suddenly, she would waddle back over the fence in a hurry and return about 2 min later to eat some more. Looked like she had to make a pit stop to get rid of all that liquid...but she always made it back over the fence. LOL.
LOL!
My tiny DDIL eats like that when she is bfeeding, it always astounds me that she can eat 5 or 6 belly-stretching meals a day and still stay teeny-tiny...It must be a real hoot to see Heidi doing it.