Heidi Watch '07

Yes, Karen, they are very interesting, aren't they? And so adorable!

Maybe one of your raccoons felt the need to run some of the competition off. Or maybe some of yours are boys who felt the call of the wild, if you know what I mean. Then again, I guess it is about time for the ladies to start having those babies.

It makes me very happy to have Trouble come up to me. Next to Heidi, he was always my favorite, in part because he had so much personality and in part because he did come to me so freely. I would love to let him come right up to me, but I have to remember that rabies is very real and very much a threat - and we do have it here. Some records I found on line last year seemed to indicate, if I read them right, that our numbers in SC are actually higher than those in WV. I don't believe that he intends to harm me. It's just that the risk is so high. A scratch, or a bite, even if it didn't hurt all that much would be catastrophic, none the less.

I know last year we discussed getting vaccinated. I just haven't gotten around to it. I'm running a few years behind schedule right now. I know it's hard to imagine, but I just got so far behind with everything during my 2 years convalesence. Sometimes it seems like I'll never get caught up again.

This - DG, and mostly just this thread - is the one time indulgence I've allowed myself while trying to get things caught up to date.

Life in your yard just keeps getting more interesting! Sounds like these are last year's kids; and the one Heidi attacked is most likely male, so you were probably right in your original impression of Trouble's gender. I completely understand your wish not to abandon the kids altogether; but if a male continues to come around, the situation could become hairy. Heidi will be driven to chase him away as a potential threat to her new young; and as she becomes more pregnant, it will become more difficult for her to fight at the same time as the need to do so increases. When he or Fraidy approach you for food, could you toss it to a more remote area of the yard, to discourage them from coming around Heidi's feeding station? It would be a lot safer if you can keep them out of Heidi's comfort zone.

I'm very familiar with that sound you describe as like a wild boar! Amazing to hear it come from such a relatively small creature, isn't it? Very impressive...

Karen, I have to say that the folks you mention seeing on a video, who allow wild raccoons in their house and on their laps, are way way over the top. That is simply not safe or smart. These are still wild animals, and capable of doing a lot of damage if things go wrong. Just for the raccoons' sake, it is not smart; if either of the people are ever injured or bitten, the coons will be trapped, destroyed, and tested for rabies; and the injured person will be facing the immediate and expensive need for emergency vaccinations. I'm all for helping the raccoons, as you know: but outside, where they live, and at a safe distance. Sorry to say that I've had no experience with red squirrels (he is adorable): just the gray rascals up in VA and in this area.

Cheryl, I wouldn't be too concerned about Heidi's cough, as long as she is eating heartily, looks well, and is obviously capable of defending her territory. Coughing is not a symptom of rabies, fortunately. Coons can contract canine distemper, and that can produce a cough; but like dogs, coons with distemper are visibly and terribly ill (high fever, vomiting and diarrhea, etc.). I'd keep an eye on her, certainly, but most likely she was just choking a bit from trying to eat fast while her territory was being encroached upon.

I did see Heidi tonight, but regretably will probably not have time to write about it tonight - I'm running out of time and just wouldn't be able to do it justice right now. However, I wanted to warn all of you that there is a new Windows virus out there "floating around" in email and on the web. At this time, there is no fix available. Officials are working on it. Be careful, folks. You can get this one by accessing infected email and by accessing infected items on web sites. Until this is resolved, officials recommend using caution, esp with unknown sites and emails from unknown sources: http://davesgarden.com/place/t/709125/

Tonight before I could get the food out, my husband said there was someone out checking out the bowls. So I got the food ready, my flashlight and food in hand and started out. There was a raccoon who was walking away from the bowls until she saw me coming, and then she turned around and started to walk toward me (or the bowls-we were going in the same direction). As we got closer to each other, I began to panic a bit, so I just talked to her, but waved the flashlight a little and that scared her back to the tree line. I kept talking and putting out the food. Good left overs, stale raisin bread, regular hamburger buns and beef jerky my hubby didn't eat. Plus the dog food. Then I heard the squirrel feeder behind me and must have jumped 2 feet, I turned and found that it was the flying squirrels, not a raccoon this time. Phew. I walked back to the house and sat down on the chair I have out in the yard, turned off all my flashlights and waited. Shortly I heard the rustling of leaves and a black figure in the dark emerged and walked over to the dog bowls to start to eat. I am hoping this is Sadie since she doesn't seem to be afraid of the flashlight anymore if I shine it on her from the porch. I just say hello, turn it off and let her be. Seems there have been at least two out there tonight. Last night they ate ALL the food. Wonder when the babies emerge??? Karen

Now last night was a sparse night, again. Only two (of 4) bowls were empty. And, of course, all the goodies were gone. I am still wondering if there are females with babies that only come out when they need to. Tonight we had a drastic weather change and now it is snowing (65 yesterday), so doubt if many will be out tonight. Karen

Hard to say, Karen. I'm still trying to figure them out myself. Our temps have been in the mid to high 80s, actually too hot, esp for so early in the year, but I just heard on the news that we are also going to be dipping back down. I'm looking forward to cooling down some here.

Ruth,

I took your words to heart, difficult though they were to hear. When I fed Trouble, I knew that I was doing the wrong thing for Heidi, for me,and probably even for him. But he is just so incredibly adorable. The way that he comes up to me is so endearing. He just waltzes right up to me with a look that says, "I think you're ok, I don't think you will harm me, right?" and then when he get really, really close and I move a bit, he rushes back a bit like, "oh, ok, maybe I was wrong. better rethink this" and then when he gets to a safe distance he looks at me again as if "maybe I jumped to a hasty conclusion. you were just moving, not trying to harm me. Right? I think I'll try again." So he comes back up to me.

I thought a lot yesterday about what you said, and how you said it. I could "read" the desperation in your words, hear that you really cared about Heidi's welfare and that of her new babies and believed that this current situation would pose a serious risk to them. BUT, I know me, and I find Trouble all but irresistible. I tried to imagine me NOT giving him food. That would be very difficult. As small as my yard is, it seems to me that anywhere I put food for him and Fraidy will still be too close to Heidi's hollow tree. As much as I would love to "play" with Trouble, I decided to try to stay away for a while, feed Heidi but not hang around. That way, I wouldn't be tempted to do the wrong thing. Just for a short while.

Last night, actually a little before it was truly dark, I headed out with dog food, puppy biscuits, bread, and one of Widget's treats that is made with a strip of dried pork wrapped around a stick of dried sweet potatoe. Heidi was already at the feeder, but not yet on it. She ran a little ahead of me, but this time she didn't run all the way to the fence or feeding area. She just stayed a certain distance ahead of me and then waited for me at the feeding station when she got there.

At the last minute as I approached, she ran back to the top of the fence, but then started back down even before I finished putting the food in the bowl. As I turned to walk back to my seat, she was already on the ground and approaching the food. As it was only Heidi, I quickly forgot my resolve to leave. Again, I had run out without my glasses and without turning on any outside lights. Worse, last night there wasn't even any light from the inside of the house. Heidi was mostly just a blur in the darkness.

After she had eaten for a little while - and she was coughing again BTW, a dry cough very much like the popcorn thing I described earlier - suddenly the other 2 kids appeared. They seem to be "running" together these days. They tried to get around Heidi to come to me. She threatened them. There were objects in the way on both sides so they couldn't go very far from her and still get through. Trouble slipped through, but I did not feed him (thankfully I couldn't see his face so well in the darkness and that helped my resolve).

Then, the most unbelievable thing happened. The 2 kids, in what looked like a planned "attack", approached Heidi (still eating) from opposite sides at the same time. Unable to defend her position from such an "attack" she allowed them to sneak in and eat, one on either side of her. They ate as a group for a few minutes, then 1 of them moved away rather quickly, almost as if it had been "run" away. In the extreme darkness, I was unable to see for sure but I thought it was the center 1 that "exited" the group and came towards me. That would have been Heidi. I thought they had succeeded in taking her dish from her.

She came near me. I tossed her the pork and sw potatoe treat. She like it, and it actually kept her busy for maybe 5 minutes - because they are so dried out, it takes my dog hours if not days to eat one. Then I tossed her the 3 puppy biscuits I had in my pocket. When she had eaten them she came right up to my feet. When she got that close and I could see her I realized that it was actually Trouble.

Oops. Must get charger. To be continued.

I tried moving my arm to send him back. That only worked very briefly as he would step back a foot or 2 and then return. I stood up to my full height. That was enough to send him and Fraidy back over the fence. Heidi continued to eat. When they left together, and she stayed, I knew that was her.

They had begun to remind me of inner city youths, gang members, roaming about making trouble. I decided to leave before they returned, if they returned.

Tonight I decided to change the menu a bit. I filled a 2.5 qt casserole dish with 1 pint white rice from Chinese last week, a container of low fat alfredo sauce I didn't like, a cup of out dated plain yogurt, a scoop of sunflower seeds in shells, the last of the egg shells (because there was no sign of them yesterday morning), a 1/4 cup of maple syrup, and a scoop of dog food. That filled the dish to the top and a bit over. I stirred only a tad and loosely, so that it was still possible to eat any one thing by itself or to eat some blended things. I took this out and dumped it in her bowl.

Yet again, I went out before it was truly dark, and yet again forgot the lights. By the time she showed up, again I could barely see. It was extremely noisy out. They were having some kind of party outside 2 doors down, lots of noisy, intoxicated people, and the place was lit up like a ball field. I was encouraged to see that she came to eat, none the less, and that she stayed despite intermittent loud bursts of sreaming and laughter.

I spoke to her occasionally when she looked up to sample the noise. Heidi is the only one that responds favorably to my voice. Even though Trouble walks right up to me, he will run away if I speak, no matter how gently.

The kids did not show up, and she ate in peace - with no coughing. Perhaps because I'd given her moist food, not just a lot of dry dog food. Perhaps because she didn't have to scarf it down in a hurry to keep the kids from getting it. Perhaps because she didn't have the stress of fighting them off. Or maybe a little of each. She ate a little of each thing. I could hear her crunching dog food one minute and lapping up yogurt and syrup the next. Much like us, she seemed to enjoy the variety.

Then when she had almost finished ALL of that food, the kids suddenly took shape atop the fence. I had just finished wondering how she had gotten rid of them, had just finished celebrating the renewal of peace in my little garden, just Heidi and me, no fighting. And now they were back.

Oddly, they didn't try the same trick again. Trouble tried to get around Heidi to get to me. Fraidy tried to approach Heidi, but without Trouble on the other side, her attempt was doomed to fail. Heidi turned to take as swipe at her and she retreated. I saw that Trouble was determined to come to me. Then I realized that I was holding the casserole dish with food remnants still clinging to the sides and to the spoon. It wreaked of maple syrup, and Trouble always had a soft spot for the sweet stuff - he would always drink the hummingbird nectar. I decided the best thing I could do at that point was leave.

I really do understand where you're coming from, Cheryl, and know you've always had a soft spot for Trouble (with good reason - he's always been an adorable rascal). But you see, if the two kids are already able to force her to let them eat with her, next they may try to push her away. At that point, there will either be a 2- or 3-way fight, or if Heidi is by then too pregnant to fight, she may lose her food source. She is not at all a young raccoon, based on the number of years you've seen her, and the fact that she has only one litter a year (young coons usually have two, especially in a long warm season like yours). Your supplemental feedings probably have much to do with her continued ability to breed successfully.

The only suggestion I can make is to toss treats for the kids away from you and her feeding station; even though that isn't a great distance, it should help prevent faceoffs that can lead to fights. If your arm motion while tossing food alarms them, they'll quickly recover and follow the food. If you'll pardon me for being really frank, right now they have you trained to offer food when they approach you; you need to train them that treats are only available when they keep a distance from Heidi. And yes, I do know how difficult it would be to maintain this; being objective is easy from a great distance. Hope you'll understand that I'm just trying to suggest ways to avoid trouble (no double entendre intended)...

Oh, yes, Ruth, I do understand that, and I appreciate the help. I was hoping if I didn't feed them then maybe they would leave. I guess from what you are saying you don't think they will. If Trouble stays, will he be likely to kill the babies?

Trouble isn't scared off by me tossing treats, only Fraidy is. Trouble is afraid when I speak and when I stand up. Last night I found that I could scare them away [from Heidi] by standing up. But I don't know how long that will last. Right now, when I stand, she stays, they run back over the fence.

Right now they aren't eating very much food. She is still getting almost all of it. They come late, and they don't stay long. Again, they remind me of teen gang members like you see on tv, just coming through, causing mayhem and then leaving.

So you really think that giving them food elsewhere is a better solution than not feeding them or trying to scare them off?

Honestly, Cheryl, I'm just trying to think of an approach that is the lesser of available evils. If these are last year's kids, and they are living in the area, they know there is fresh food in your yard every night; so, no, I don't think they will voluntarily leave the area. Heidi seems satisfied to defend her food without trying to drive them away altogether, unless they "push it:" this is frankly very unusual, and makes it even more likely that they are last year's kids.

The usual reason for a male of any species to attack babies is to bring the mother back into season. From your descriptions of Trouble's behavior, he sounds more like a pubescent male than a mature experienced breeder, and it doesn't sound like he's "made any moves" on Heidi; this offers hope that he might not be a threat, at least not yet. However, Heidi may not see it that way; females typically will not tolerate a male anywhere near them or their territory when they have young. That could get ugly.

When you have tried to "scare off" the kids, they have so far retreated; but only temporarily, and Trouble comes back to solicit food again within minutes. Endearing as heck, but keeps him in close range to Heidi. Standing up is likely to lose its scary effect over time, as they become accustomed to your presence again. And when you have not offered food when Trouble has approached you, he has shown a definite willingness to come even closer to you; this is unnerving at best.

So if they're not likely to voluntarily move on to other pastures, and scaring them off only works temporarily, and refusing to feed them gets you in close proximity with a boy who wants to make sure you don't have anything, the only alternative I could come up with is to offer them something only at a distance from Heidi and her food. Not an ideal solution by any means, but it at least addresses two problems. Reducing the proximity between them and Heidi/Heidi's feeding station should reduce the likelihood of fights, and it allows for the fact that you've become very attached to the kids and would find it hard to refuse them altogether. Like all training programs, though, it will only work if you can manage to be very consistent: never offering food to the kids at close range, always tossing it as far from Heidi as possible. In time this could become a fun game; and I'd bet before long the kids will arrive at the projected landing spot before the treat does.... A bit like playing Frisbee with raccoons.

From your descriptions of the nightly menu, Heidi is already eating a LOT; this will only increase as her pregnancy advances, and she will be even less willing to share. The other concern is when the new kids begin to arrive with Heidi for an evening meal. The older kids could try to snatch food from them, Heidi would have to jump to their defense, etc., etc. It seems safer all around to try to train the older kids now to keep their distance.

Thanks very much for the info and suggestions, Ruth. It is good to have input from someone with your expertise. Tonight, as I was just plain, drop-dead, exhausted, I took the food out but didn't hang around. I heard sounds on the other side of the fence but "no one" came over the fence right away. From my experience, the sounds are more likely indicative of the kids than of Heidi. The only sound she ever makes is that of nails on the fence; otherwise, she is an silent as a ninja. The kids tend to crunch and rustle leaves - not sure how she manages to avoid that, unless maybe be moving through the upper canopy of trees.

I will try your suggestion. A little difficult to find another good feeding area amidst all of the plants in my very full cottage garden, but where there's a will...

And, yes, Heidi is REALLY chowing down these days, eating with enthusiasm. Sometimes, I'm not sure where she puts it all - not the calories and nutrition, but the physical bulk of food consumed in one "sitting".

Better get to sleep. I was late to work this morning (I mean yesterday morning). Turned off the alarm and ...snooze..

Thanks, again.

Silent movement is the signature of a mature animal in the wild. Blundering through the forest attracts the notice of predators, not to mention people; one of many reasons so many in the wild fail to live long enough to become as experienced as Heidi.

Remember that you don't really need to define a new feeding area per se. You just need to toss treats for kids who will be watching you do so; they'll find them even if they land under a shrub.

Don't you just hate oversleeping? Starts the day off all wrong, and is so easy for us night people to do.

Tonight, things didn't go very well.

After work, I took what ended up being a long nap. It's my way of resolving the sleep deficit that is the inevitable result of staying up too late and then getting up relatively early for work. When I awoke, groggy, it was dark out so I knew Heidi would be waiting and hungry.

This time I went out with an extra measure of dog food chunks. As I was filling the dish, Heidi was already waiting, perched atop the fence and under the cover provided by the overhanging limb of the Heidi tree. I purposely held back a quantity of the dog food so that I would have something to toss to one side for Trouble and Fraidy - to keep them off of Heidi. No sooner had I sat down at my bench and Heidi taken up her position at the dish to eat, when Trouble leaped down from the top of the fence.

It is hard for me to describe the garden "design" and why I'm having trouble figuring out where to toss Trouble's treats. The garden consists of a network of winding and interconnected paths, each flanked by an assortment of small trees, shrubs, and an expanse of bulbs and perennials. Ultimately these paths all lead to a single, small patch of lawn that is somewhat oval in shape. At the back of the garden is a berm topped by a 6ft privacy fence which "holds back" the forest on the other side. My house forms most of the front border of the cottage garden. The small section of lawn connects the house to the bottom of the berm.

A variety of drought tolerant plants including rosemary, lavendar, sedum, coreopsis and regosa rose cover the slope of the berm. A funnel shaped section of berm covered only with closely clipped grass connects one end of the lawn with the back fence. Because the remainder of the berm is covered with roses, lavendar, rosemary, etc and in order to keep Heidi's food as close to the fence as possible, I chose long ago to place her feeding dish in the narrow "neck" of lawn at the bottom of the berm, right where the funnel shaped grass on the berm meets the oval shaped lawn. I sit on a small bench on the lawn.

If I toss Troubles food anywhere in the open portion of lawn, I will be between him and the fence which is not good. My aim is terrible so I would have difficulty tossing anything onto an ajacent path with any degree of reliability. I'm reluctant to toss food into an area that would encourage the bumbling kids to trample my perrenials. Hence the delima

Upon seeing Trouble burst onto the scene and head toward the dish where Heidi was eating, I quickly decided, for now at least, to try to stop him by tossing his food to him back by the fence. I tossed a small handful of chunks directly at him, but it did nothing to stop his advance. Quickly I tossed several more handuls, all to no avail. By that time he had reached the dish where he pushed Heidi aside and took control of the food. Heidi stood back a bit from the dish reaching in with her front paws to pick up chunks of food. Trouble stood at the bowl eating.

Hoping to intervene on her behalf, I stood up, and as that had no effect, walked over toward them. When I was quite close to them and to the dish and close enough that a reading of Heidi's body language indicated she would likely bolt if I advanced another step, Trouble was still eating, all the while eyeing me with a look that bordered on defiant. He had taken the food from Heidi, and he wasn't going to give it up to me easily.

I went back to my bench and seeing no other reasonable alternative, reversed the original plan to toss the remaining reserve food 1/2 way between me and the dish so that Heidi might eat it. That worked. With a degree of sadness, I watched as Heidi was now reduced to picking up kibble from the lawn while her ungratelul child munched freely from what had been her dish. At least she would have food, but not nearly enough.

When she had eaten all of the reserve food, she made her way back toward the area of fence where I had thrown those 1st handfulls of kibble to the then advancing Trouble. Like a shotgun blast, due to the greater distance they had traveled since leaving my hand, the dog food chunks in that area had scattered widely. None the less, having little alternative, Heidi walked about the berm in search of them. At that point, saddened by the turn of events but feeling powerless to effect a change, I left.

A few minutes later I decided that I could at least take more food out for Heidi. This time I grabbed the puppy biscuits in addition to the dog food. This time I turned on the outside lights. When I returned to the feeding area, I could hear the sounds of raccoons departing. I put the food down and called to Heidi. Neither of them returned while I was there. I went back to the house once again.

This season was not turning out as I had planned or expected.

WOW,

i'm surprised at Heidi's reaction to Trouble taking over the food dish -- I was expecting the reaction from the evening before.

That is a bummer.

Yes, Terese, it REALLY is. I think that Ruth is right. Heidi is getting on in age, an issue which has come up before (George, if you are out there) but which I've tried hard to ignore because I just started getting to know her last summer and am not ready to loose her so soon. I guess she's been with me for 5 or 6 years now. Even if she was very young when I 1st saw her that would put her right at the 6-7yr avg lifespan of a wild raccoon. From what I've read, captive raccoons can live well into their teens, but in the wild [where as we can see life is tough] I read they rarely live past [I believe it was] 7.

BTW, the other night when Heidi attacked him, as I said then, I don't know who screamed. It may have been Heidi. After the scream they both left the yard but in opposite directions. Even at the time I thought it suspicous that Heidi also left. If she had "won" the fight, it seems like she would have stayed to finish her meal.

Heidi doesn't move like she's rickety and arthritic or anything, but she doesn't also doesn't seem as springy and quick as the kids do. Also, as Ruth pointed out, she's at a disadvantage because she is, I believe, very pregnant. So she is female, old, and pregnant. Trouble, on the other hand, is male, very young, and not carrying 5 babies around with him all day. It's like a healthy 18yr old male taking food from a granny whose carrying quintuplets, no contest. I think this shows WHY they don't live long in the wild. Here I am TRYING to help her, and the stronger raccoons are STILL taking advantage; imagine if she were on her own completely.

I'm wondering, and this is a stretch, if it would be better if I stopped feeding all of them for now in hopes that the kids would leave. Last year I didn't start feeding her until late Apr anyhow. If that worked and the kids left (assuming Heidi would still stay), then I could resume feeding her. Ruth? Any chance that might work?

I guess my other option would be to set up 2 stations on seperate sides of the yard. Trouble can't eat both at the same time. At least that way Heidi would get to eat. Is that the better option? Help!!!

Yes. I would have t hought she would have fought him off for the food--unless she is afraid he will hurt her and the new babies. I don't know. Just guessing. Trouble is surely living up to his name. So far the last two nights, most of my 4 bowls have been finished offl Not much else. Keep us posted. I pretty much agree with all thats been said. If Trouble gets close anf doesn't find you have food, don't know if he will just trot off or get nasty to you. I would like to think he just wants to be friends, but can't count on that with a wild animal. At least Fraidy keeps her distance. Tonight I put out the usual dog food, animal crackrs, some left over dinner rolls and one lonely fresh egg in the bowl I think Sadie uses. Will be interesting to see if she or someone eats the egg shell and all. It for tonight. Karen

Oh boy. Sometimes you really don't want to be right in your hypotheses; this is definitely one of those times.

If you stop feeding altogether, Cheryl, I think the kids would eventually disappear; but it would probably take quite some time for such an established habit to extinguish. And even then, I think they'd check back in periodically to make sure the diner really is closed for good. The trouble is that I can't accurately predict the effect of this on Heidi, but I'm sure it would be negative. From the amount you describe her as eating, she must be depending on your handouts for her primary food source. This makes sense: early in the season for other food to be available, older lady thus probably a bit slower, being pregnant reduces mobility and hunting skills. If our guesses on her mating time are reasonable accurate, she is less than halfway through gestation, which means her nutritional demands will only increase dramatically over the next month or so. Not at all a good time for her to lose her primary food source. And it would certainly break your heart to have to continue tossing dry food to Heidi while the young marauder devours all the good stuff.

I do understand, now, the problem with food tossing; cottage gardens by definition don't have much open space, though they are just gorgeous and I'm envious. Can't hurt to try setting up two feeding stations; my suspicion is that, having successfully stolen access to the existing one, Trouble will continue to monopolize it. If each raccoon finds a station around the same time, Heidi seems to eat fast enough to get enough before Trouble finishes and tries to raid hers. That may be the best solution available for the moment; I'm afraid that, having surrendered the battle tonight, Heidi has probably also lost the war in terms of challenging Trouble. In a sense, that's a relief; I was seriously worried that if it came to a real fight, she would have little chance against a younger male raccoon, especially when pregnant. The focus now needs to be on ensuring that Heidi still gets food, I think.

In the worst case scenario, if Heidi continues to be excluded from the food, you could try catching Trouble in a live trap (basically a cage that closes behind when the animal enters for food) and relocating him. He should have dispersed in search of a territory of his own by now, so you would in a sense just be doing nature's job. You would have to take him a good distance away to avoid having him find his way back; preferably 20 miles or more, and turn him loose in parkland or woodland. At this time of year he should do fine with relocation: lots of food/prey soon to be available, good weather with no immediate need of shelter from climate, etc. If all else fails, and you want to try this approach, I'll be glad to talk you through how it's done.

I think the food stations on the other sides of the yard might help, that is why I ended up with 4 separate bowls, to stop the fighting. It did help, for now anyhow. All you can do is try and see. Karen

Hmm. I hadn't thought about relocation.

I'm quite familiar with that type of trap - remember when I said as a kid I used to free the raccoons from my father's cage in the garden? It was that type of cage, but I don't think he planned to relocate them if he caught one [that I didn't free before he found it]. I grew up out in the country - hence my constant attempts to convert my little part of the burbs into the country - so some of the more basic stuff about dealing with animals if fairly normal for me. Even as a kid I knew that if I aimed the cage at the forest and stood on the opposite side while opening it, the raccoons would be too happy to run for the forest and would not mess with me.

Anyhow, there are lots of woodland areas around the perimiter of the city. One of the 1st that comes to mind is not actually in Chas but rather a neighboring municipality. Actually it is sufficiently large that it is in 2 municipalities. It's where I go to work each day, but the land is owned by the gov't and it is one of the safest places he could possibly live. There is absolutely, positively no way that anyone could possibly hunt there any time in the forseeable future - in his life time, at least. Only people who have a need to be there are even permitted to enter. Even then, we are NOT permitted to go of course and start wandering around in the forest. Lots of forest, no hunting, no dogs. There is enough concern for wildlife there such that when they came across a big, old gator while building the place, they actually fenced off a sizeable section of wetland on the property just for him (not a tiny cage, mind you) and he still lives there.

The property is probably in the 10's of thousands of acres, by far the most of which is completely untouched wilderness. A few years ago when I worked late a few nights (to around 10-11PM), when I walked out to my car I was surprised to see a HUGE gathering of deer, does with fawns at their sides, all over the lawn areas surrounding the buildings and parking areas. A few lifted their heads to look at me and then just went back to grazing. It was such a beautiful sight, all those deer grazing in the limited light of street lights and parking lot lights. I sat in my car for a few minutes watching. I hated the thought of disturbing the awesome tranqulity by starting my car and scaring them all away,. Much to my amazement, even as I not only started the engine but drove away, they continued to eat peacefully. A few were ambling across the pavement and I had to wait for them to cross. Deer don't act that way unless they've spent there entire lives in the safety of an area where they've never seen a hunter or a gun and no one has ever tried to harm them.

A few time over the years I've also seen a fox or two in the early morning, often loping across the road.

Anyhow, I'll have to check to see if I'd be breaking any rules by taking him there, but otherwise, I think it would be a nice home for him. The only thing is there are no houses so I doubt he would be able to live off of man made/acquired food - unless he is able to find some in dumpsters around the office buildings. He'd be largely limited to natural food sources. There are wetlands, creeks, etc on the property (so probably fish).

This message was edited Apr 7, 2007 10:39 AM

by your description of that property, that would be a great place for Trouble... and he'd learn to live off the land and not keep looking for handouts.

I feel for Heidi... it's like you'd like to build her her own lil "condo" with nice nesting place and food/water dish away from Trouble and others that could bother her until she had her litter... I had no idea she was getting up there in age.

Terese,

I've been in denial about her age so we haven't mentioned it a lot. In one of the earlier threads, George, from whom we haven't heard just lately, advised building her a home in the back yard due to her age. I did find plans for a raccoon "house" on a website run by the parks dept of WA state. It freely allows for the animal to come and go at will. I was wondering if I had it built (and got away with hiding it in the backyard garden), if she might use it. The problem is that she isn't all that comfortable in my yard. She comes to eat but prefers to return to the forest afterward. The forest doesn't belong to me...but then again, I could probably put a "box" back there just over the fence in/around the Heidi tree. It's not as if I've ever seen a human back there, so who would know?

But even if it were IN my yard and she were willing to use it, clearly, I could not protect her from other raccoons - not without imprisoning her, and as she is a wild creature the stress alone would be very bad for her. She would not understand that I was only trying to help/protect her.

As to the place I described for Trouble, after I left the PC I realized that it actually spans 3, maybe even 4 municipalities, AND, in fact, it does have lots of houses. This place is huge, maybe 100's of thousands of acres, who knows. There are more parts of it that I haven't seen than parts I have seen. Anyhow, on the other end and in on of the other cities, it has a substantial number of homes. I just don't go over there so I forgot about them. It also has a few large cafaterieas and such in the various locations that are populated by humans. Those would likely have food in the dumpsters out back.

I was also remembering that on one side it connects to the Atlantic ocean, so there must be sea life such as turtles, crabs, baby alligators (they are very vulnerable at that stage and easy prey), etc that can be found on or near the shore at times. A few times when my regular entrance was blocked I had to drive to a neighboring city to enter and then drive through miles of the property that I normally don't see. During those times, I drove for 10-15 miles without seeing a human or a car, just wilderness. I recall thinking if I got lost out there they might never find me, and if I had to call for help on my cell phone I wouldn't know how to tell anyone where I was.

I'm not that raccoon savvy - except for what I've learned from Heidi and company and from Ruth - but it sounds like a wildlife paradise to me. Even if you (us humans) are allowed in there, you know better than to park your car and go hiking, and you surely wouldn't want to try hunting there - unless you have your eye on a nice, furnished room at Leavenworth, that is.

Ruth,

How does this place sound to you? For Trouble, of course. If I do this, I would like to get your guidance on the how-to's, esp anything raccoon specific that I might not think of. One obvious problem that comes to mind is that of making sure "who" I have in the trap before I move him.

Even though I like Trouble a lot, I don't feel so bad about moving him because from what I've read (1) males are supposed to go somewhere else far away anyhow, in order limit inbreeding which would weaken bloodlines for generations, (2) unlike a female, there is no risk of leaving defenseless babies behind if he is moved, (3) unlike females, males are somewhat transient, moving around in search of girlfriends. All in all, whereas a friendly and reasonably well mannered female such as Heidi can bring us the joy of anual babies to raise, a male, esp one that has earned the name Trouble, is just likely to cause problems. I suspect that pushing Heidi around is just the beginning.

There are also a couple of large National Forests in the vicinity, again not actually in Chas. These allow visitors, hiking, camping and such but still have miles of largely untouched forest.

It sounds like moving Trouble would be the best solution for everyone, really. :-)

Hi, I am here. I have this on my watch list. Just that you have progressed beyond any experience that I have had with raccoons.

Now I am just musing--If you made a shelter and began putting Heidi's food inside, then when she goes in to eat pull a rope that closes the door. Have the door such that it can be easily pushed open from the inside but not easily pulled open from the outside. I know, I know. This is all well and good for someone who is retired and has time. You are in a very different situation so my ramblings represent a pipe dream.

So many people talk about living wild as being idealic, but the reality is that it is a very hard life.

I like George's pipe dream....

Hi George,

Nice to hear from you again and glad that you are still with us. I just remembered that this was something you mentioned last year, and that you had been concerned then about Heidi's age and even about Fraidy early on when she was too fearful even to come out and eat.

You know, George, about the difficulty of life in the wild, I think that concept became real for me one day when I was watching a cardinal cautiously eating at the feeder, always looking around and over his shoulder the whole time. It was something I'd seen many times before, but that was an aha moment for me. It suddenly dawned on me how unbelievably stressful it must be to have to look over your shoulder every second of every day lest something eat you or someone shoot you. To think that from the 1st moment of his life until the last, he lived every moment with the very real probability of being eaten alive hanging over his head, that he could not even rest at night without keeping always vigilant, that he had nowhere to go for even a moments rest and respite from this constant threat of death really made an impression on me that day. I cannot imagine living that way.

As for the idea on the feeding "box" for Heidi, I'm inclined to think that idea of a door closing behind her would cause Heidi to panic, endure extreme stress, possibly hurt herself, forget all about eating, and undoubtably refuse to ever get into the "box" again and possibly even to return to the yard in my presence. I'm afraid, although it is a brilliant idea from the standpoint of keeping other raccoons out, it's not a feasible solution, again because as a wild animal she will not recognize this as a way of helping her but will see it as a way to harm her.

Thank you Scutler for bringing Heidi back into our lives as she re-enters yours. You'll have a new brood with more adventures to keep us posted about. This will be fun!

Hi, venu!

You are very welcome. Glad to see you back with us, too!

it would be so nice if we'd be able to communticate with animals and have them understand us... that way you could "tell" Heidi that you just wanted to keep her safe -- and safe from the young rebel-rouser Trouble.

ahhh, only in a perfect world.

Tonight I took out lots of dog food, put it in 2 dishes: moved the original 1 over a few feet to one side and then put the other dish on the berm as far as possible to the opposite side. I had to find 2 new dishes for this because "somebody" carried the other one off, probably to join the rest of the junk Heidi and company have piled up back there somewhere: bird feeders, suet cages, at least 3 rat traps, some thistle socks, a couple of corn holders for squirrels, and a squirrel bungee cord feeder just to name a few of the ones I remember.

It took quite a while for anyone to show up - and it was cold out. Brrr. As usual, Heidi showed up 1st. The new bowl was acutally very close to where she normally enters. She saw it and stopped there to eat.

I had wondered what happened to Snowball as I had not seen him for some time now. About that time his white face popped up atop the fence. He climbed on top and scuffled down to the end of the yard where it borders the neighbor's property. That corner of the fence has long been his designated spot. It looked like he was waiting there in case there were left overs.

Interesting how on that span of fence along the forest, each animal seems to claim a different section of "my" fence. Snowball always climbs up by the little wild black cherry tree and then hangs out between there and the corner some 30ft away. Trouble and Fraidy also climb up at the black cherry tree, but they claim the next 10 ft of fence in the opposite direction along with the next post. Heidi claims the 10-20 ft of fence after that - the section in front of the Heidi tree and it's twin the dead, hollow tree. Just an aside, but just realized how they don't seem to use each other's section of the fence.

Trouble showed up a bit later. I was concerned about conflict if he came down the post by Heidi's new dish, but he entered via the post directly by the original dish, odd because they never, ever use that post - although it is part of "his" section of fence so he didn't violate that "rule". Heidi growled at him as he entered the yard. He ignored her and took his place at the old dish. When I left they were eating peacefully some 15ft or so apart.

that seemed to go well. Hopefully Trouble will leave Heidi's dish alone and let her get her fill. Let's hope he behaves himself.

no sign of Fraidy? Good to see snowball back again -- what does he usually eat?

curious,,, how wide is your lot? I know "city lots" aren't the widest.... my old house was 50' wide. we were just about stacked upon each other.....

**btw -- i'm still cursing at my drive.

OK, instead of a door closing, a ramp that could be raised making access from the outside difficult, but allowing the one inside to jump down easily--thus not having the feeling of being trapped. Hopefully Heidi would learn that this way she could eat in peace and still be free.

Cheryl,

in your VERY first post (May 17, 2006) you kept referring the to raccoon as He. Was that actually Heidi?

that must have been quite a sight, you makin' a ruckus and throwing things only to have the 'coon sit and watch.

Terese

Terese,

Yes, "he" was Heidi. When she 1st started hanging around, I had no way of knowing her gender. I just seem to assume that everything is a "he". If you read to the part where I called and talked to the rehabber at Keeper of the Wild (at the time, long story, I thought I was talking to state wildlife dept official BTW), the rehabber is the 1st one to indicate that "he" was likely a lactating "she" with newborn babies nearby and was coming to my yard in daylight in a desperate search for quick food in order to get back to her kids ASAP before a predator found them. The rehabber suggested that I put some dog food out for "her" as far from my house as possible. And that's how it all started.

And, yes, looking back, it was a pretty "crazy" time. One day she just climbed down the fence and pretty much refused to leave. I'd chase her and toss stuff "near" her to try to scare her back into the forest. She'd go back for a minute or so and then climb right back down again. I must have looked pretty silly. I waved my arms, jumped up and down, thrashed the rake on the ground until I broke the handle, tossed the dog's soft, indoor frisbee at the fence and accidentally sent it over the top and into the forest (to join the rest of the stuff Heidi took over there) - and she just clung to the fence in broad daylight looking at me like "get real, you know you aren't really going to hurt me".

I didn't want to hurt her, but I was raised/taught to be afraid of raccoons so I thought she needed to stay in the forest - but she didn't agree. LOL. Thankfully.

I didn't find Heidi. Heidi found me, and she just moved in one day.

Also, if you read on in that 1st thread, I start to recount some of the earlier sitings of the "he" that actually was a "she". Every summer Heidi (who didn't have a name back then) would start raiding the birdfeeder.Back then I didn't understand why "he" raided the feeder in summer when food was plentiful and not in the winter when food was more scarce. Of course, as I later learned, babies were the answer.

In an attempt to keep her from eating up all of the bird seed and destroying the feeder (pre 06), I would take the feeder in at night. She knew the feeder was there and probably even saw me take it in (from her tree), so she started coming earlier, and I started taking it in earlier, repeat, repeat, until finally she would show up to eat before I got home from work - so she won.

I think the feeder is part of the reason why she adopted the dead tree just a few feet from my fence as the perfect place to raise her babies each year. She knows the feeder is always there and always full of sunflower seeds. When her babies are new borns, she can sneak over the fence, raid the feeder, and then get back to them quickly. If she had to go out hunting for food, they might be killed and eaten in her absence. The distance from the hollow tree to the feeder is such that she would likely hear/smell a predator and be able to run back to them. Over the years she destroyed 1 or 2 of those $40-50 squirrel b gone, triple tube feeders PER year. Back then, I didn't know about the babies. I just knew that blasted raccoon was constantly destroying the feeder. The day she came down the fence to me, I had removed the feeder so she was desperate for food.

I just checked. It DID start on May 17 as you said. For some reason I thought it started in April. This is good news! It means that we are farther ahead of schedule than we thought, I mean considering that last year Heidi and I weren't even on "speaking" terms in April.

Oh, and as to Snowball. He seems to eat just about anything. He eats anything that Heid and co leave behind. Right now I'm trying to feed Heidi all that she will eat so that means there are usually some left overs, not a lot perhaps, but some. Ruth says that oppossums also eat bugs/worms and such. I have a serious problem with Japanese Beetles which flock to my backyard cottage garden in summer to gorge themselves on roses and a host of other flowers. Often they destroy the blooms before they even open. In late summer they lay eggs in the grass which emerge as grubs that spend the fall, winter, and spring under the lawn eating away the roots of the grass. Snowball patrols the garden checking for grubs under the lawn area and all the paths which for now are still also covered with grass. He makes little cone shaped (snout) holes in the lawn where he grabs one, but I just think of them as "aerating" the lawn.

A while back (before Heidi's return), I was trapping rats out around the feeder at a rate of 1 or more a night. Snowball started waiting nearby for the trap to go off. Then he would move in and dispose of the rat. Sometimes he couldn't get the rat out so he took it trap and all. Apart from the need to constantly buy more traps, it was going pretty well until we started to run temporarily low on rats and Snowball started hanging around too near the trap thus keeping the rats from getting to the trap.

There is a lot of food in and around my yard for wildlife. On the fence line there is a wild cherry tree, a couple of oaks that drop acorns all over the back area, a 60ftish beech loaded down with beechnuts, and a network of wild muscadine grape vines strung across all of the trees along the fence from the ground up to about 40ft or more. In my yard I have 4 apple trees (2 of the are columnar, 2 espaliered on fence), 2 peach trees, ornamental cherries (some still make tiny, tart fruits), sand cherries, tons of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, a fig tree, 5 or more crabapple trees (1 makes large fruits the size of a 50 cent piece. I saw Heidi's kids eat these last year.), and several grape vines espaliered on fence. I'm sure there is more that I'm not thinking of right now. Anyhow, of the stuff in my yard, over the past 6 years, even though all of the above plants bear fruit, I've managed to get 2 apples, 1 large crabapple, 1 fig, 1 blueberry, and a few strawberries. The birds and critters eat everything else.

Oh, and some of the camellias actually make fruit about the size of a quarter. The fruit looks like a crabapple. Heidi's kids ate them, too (anything the raccoons eat, Snowball will also eat). In fall I stop pruning and dead heading the roses and let them make rose hips (more Vit C than oranges). And there are countless other plants around here that bear fruit/berries including wax myrtles (similiar to bayberry), currants, quince, elderberries, several types of viburnum berries, etc, etc, etc. It's a 24hr wildlife buffet back there.

Oh, and I'll have to count the fence sections tomorrow. I don't know how wide the lot is, but it's definitely more than 50ft. Not a huge area but more than 50, and I have it filled to capacity.

This is getting so interesting. Do you know if there are other raccoons in the area where you would be releasing Trouble? I would imagine so, but would you know for sure? Be good to know he could find a mate there sometime and get on with his own life? What will we do with Fraidy? Think Heidi will eventually run her off? Karen

Wow, what a great place you thought of for Trouble: sounds like raccoon paradise, and he would no doubt do beautifully there. The news about tonight's feeding in two different locales is encouraging, and I'd like to think it will continue to work. Unfortunately, that's hard to predict; if Trouble gets greedy, or Heidi gets hungry enough to try for seconds, there could still be problems. If you're amenable to the idea of relocating Trouble, I'd begin making plans just in case. If things go south, you'd want to be able to act quickly to move him out.

First and most important is addressing the issue of making sure you trap the correct raccoon. You will not be able to judge by their behavior once trapped; either of them will certainly be stressed, and act angry and/or panicked when trapped. [But you know from your childhood experiences that they will not be hurt, and it will only be temporary.] The only real answer is to learn to accurately identify them visually. Pay very close attention to their coloring and markings; these differ, however subtly, from one to the next. Sometimes you can see a difference in the striping, especially on the tail; but you can almost always see differences in the pattern of their mask. Some have a ground color that is gray, some brown, some reddish brown, etc. This is not easy, I know, but it is possible if you watch them closely while they're visiting. I would not start trying to trap until you're sure you can recognize them by sight.

Of course you also need access to the use of a live trap, unless your family still has one in working condition. Sometimes the local shelter will loan one for use in trapping a "problem" raccoon or other animal. Or you can usually find them at large hardware or farm supply stores, or online by googling for Havahart or Tomahawk live traps. If you have a choice, get the design that has a locking and sliding rear door (the end where you put the food); it makes release much quicker, easier, and safer. You want the size designed for cats and raccoons: not too large/heavy to pick up when there's an animal inside, not too big to put in your car, and big enough for an adult coon to enter without brushing the sides (which most will not be willing to do). If you get a previously used trap, soak it in a solution of either bleach/water or vinegar/water to kill off all scent of previous occupants; this can keep animals from entering the trap.

If the two coons continue to eat at the same feeding station routinely, your job will be much easier. It is also easier to trap young animals like Trouble than mature ones, since they are less likely to have seen a trap in the past and thus be wary of it. If Trouble chooses a routine feeding spot, I would start by putting the trap there, tying the door up in the open position (so it cannot close on him). He is young enough, and curious enough, that he might just explore it on his own. After a few nights, start putting food in it beyond the spring plate every night, again with the trap tied open. In other words, get him totally comfortable with coming in and out of the trap for food, without consequence. If he is reluctant to enter the trap, you can smear a special treat on the back bars (putting the back against a fence or other solid surface, so the only way to the treat is in the trap): maybe peanut butter or smeared banana. When he is very comfortable going into the trap for food, make this the only food source at that feeding station; if he balks at this or goes for Heidi's food, put only kibble in his regular spot and treats only in the trap. Once you have him willingly entering the trap, you're ready to set it for real. This should not take too long with a youngster like Trouble. In fact, all these steps may be unnecessary; but if things are stable between the two coons so you have the time, it will make it more likely that you catch the right one, and that it stresses him as little as possible. Once he is trapped, and you are sure you have the right coon, you simply put an old towel or blanket over the trap to calm him, and off you go to release him. Feel free to ask questions at any point, and I'll do all I can to help.

Glad to hear that Snowball is still around, working on the grub population; and especially glad to hear that he has the sense not to approach while the raccoons are eating!

I haven't seen Fraidy for a while now, not since the last time I mentioned her in the daily posts. She doesn't seem to be as much of a problem. She is much less assertive than Trouble. So far, Heidi has been able to keep Fraidy away from her food.

I've not actually seen raccoons there but I feel sure there are many. The offices where I work are on a very small part of the total area. I've never even seen the whole territory. The part I have seen is large enough to be it's own town. As I mentioned it covers parts of 3, maybe 4 municipalities. To drive (on the outside, from the entrance I normally use to the one I have used on occasion when my ususal one is closed for some reason, is 20+ miles. Once I reach the other entrance, I then have to travel the same 20+ miles (on the inside) to get back to the area where I work. Almost the entire 20+ miles I travel on the inside is isolated wilderness, no cars, no people, just forests, a creek, etc. In yet another direction, the land extends to the Atlantic ocean, again no cars, no people, no beach scene.

The place in question was built around existing forest. Given the very high population of raccoons in our area, there were surely many, many raccoons in that territory. When they enclosed it, they did so in a manner that took wildlife into account. As I mentioned, instead of removing the big, cranky alligator they found at that time, they sectioned off an area for him. I've only been there at night a handful of times and you can see from my posts that I probably don't get there too early in the AM often. Still, I've seen large herds of deer and severl foxes. I'm sure there are plenty of raccoons. They just don't have a reason to be hanging around the offices during the day, and as stealthy as they are I could have passed one at night without noticing it. Bottom line, in this state, it is just impossible to have that kind of forested acreage without raccoons. Trust me.

It has to be a wildlife paradise. There are deer living in the forest behind me, where Heidi and the others live. At night, the deer walk between my house and my neighbors house to get to the pond across the street, but you can only see the deer through the window. If I go outside, they will be gone before the door closes. At the other place I spoke of, I walked out, got in my car, slammed the door, started the engine, and drove away without disturbing a herd of deer many of which were just a stone's throw away. I even had to wait for them to WALK across the street in front of my car (headlights off because I there were no other cars around and I know lights blind deer temp). If you know anything about deer, you must know that this is incredible behavior for wild deer.