Heidi Chronicles: Enjoying the Antics of the Kids!

Heidi and the kids were back tonight. All of the kits seemed fine. Whew! Wish I'd taken the camera though - just to be sure. All 3 of them came over to me looking for treats. I was wearing big, bright blue Crocs. One kit kept playing with my shoe, grabbing the front of it playfully.

I had some marshmallows to give them. I dropped a marshmallow in front of one kit. He grabbed it and then the other two mobbed him. I dropped another one. The two without a mm, scrambled to get it, grabbed it at the same time and started pulling on it. Then they started "arguing", so I quickly dropped a 3rd mm which ended the brawl.

After they had their treats they went back over to Heidi and the pool, although the one guy kept coming back just in case - to check if there were any new treats, I guess. One kit dragged out a torn section of last night tissue roll/tube and chewed on it/played with it for a minute or two which made me think that they must have been the ones that removed the mm last night and that he wanted to play with it again. I'll have to make some more of those. Hopefully, next time I'll get to see them play with it, and take pics.

The cutest part of the night was when I looked up to see one of Heidi's kits hoisting - with great effort, I might add - the empty plastic yogurt cup over the edge of the pool. It was quite the struggle for him, mostly because instead of grasping it by side with one hand and tossing it over, he choose to try to "hug" it with both paws around it and hoist it up over the rim. At first it looked like he wouldn't make it, but he was quite determined. Finally, the thing went over the edge and plopped into the water in the pool and the kit jumped in behind it to play with it.

I was surprised to see that he had made his own toy, although I don't know why since I've seen them play with everything from sticks to a roll of plastic bags and even compost and straw (sandbox/fort). It's cute when they manage to make toys out of simple things, even trash. Unfortunately, as soon as he started playing, a dog down the street started barking and Heidi signalled that they should all leave.

Fraidy, Diva, and Rupert were also there tonight.

Note to Diva from Thursday night: it's 10 pm, do you know where your child is? In a world full of mediocre mothers, she takes a prize.

Hope you'll be feeling much better soon, Cheryl!

Sounds like the plush toy was a huge hit, and the marshmallow rolls are a great idea!

Thank, Ruth,

So far today, I'm feeling very great. I hope that you will get some much needed rain from the storm that's off the coast right now - enough rain, but not too much.

Posting some recent pics.

Heidi and kids sharing a bowl - no biting, growling, shoving. Ahhhh...

Again

Adorable! They sure are plump and healthy-looking!

>>bright blue Crocs. One kit kept playing with my shoe, grabbing the front of it playfully.
>>He really, really wanted that toy! And he was going to claim it before anybody else could
>>(Does anyone know if they see color?)

My guess is that they see colors.

Now that's a happy healthy mom and kids: such a contrast to the other two dorks.

LOL. You "guys" always brighten my day. Sorry I've been AWOL a bit - for the obvious reasons. The past 2 days I just put the food out in late afternoon and left it. Yesterday, seeing that the pool was down to the last 1/2" of water and all the other containers were parched, I rinsed and refilled water as well but again didn't stay.

I do have a bunch more pics to post and will try to get a few out soon. One set of pics - I'll try to get those on tonight - involves a hilarious event involving the kits and an egg. I was saving the story to go with the photos...

KyWoods -- After eating all those marshmallows, teddy grahams, yogurt, peanuts, pb chips, grapes, etc they should be plump! The healthy part is probably due more to Heidi's good diet, the rich milk she provides and all the healthy food she finds for them when out foraging - and maybe a little due to the dog food they eat when Aunt Cheryl isn't spoiling them with treats. : )

Terese - Good point! (You sure are a careful reader.) The do seem to go right for those bright, neon objects, don't they? BTW, I didn't mention the tiny grey mouse - cat toy with micro chip to make it squeak very much like a real mouse when touched. For days no one payed the mouse any attention at all. Then finally one day I went out to find the mouse "drowned" in the pool. Still, the reaction to the mouse was much different from that of the brightly colored plush toy.

Ruth - How true. There are no pics of the other 2 moms eating with their kits. That said, the last night I was out there I was shocked to see that Diva and Rupert actually stayed together for the a while and she even let him eat from the side of her bowl for a little while. That all ended when I coaxed Rupert to come a little closer so I could give him a marshmallow or 2. When I gave him the 2nd marshmallow, she ran in front of him - like a football player intercepting a pass - to grab it. After that she went into her crazy, "what kid? gimme another mm" act and was too engrossed in her efforts to get another one to notice when the kid wandered off. (But, for Diva, it was an improvement.)

Scutler, one day soon you will be loading up those kits in the car and going thru the Drive Up window at McDonalds to get them their snack and happy meal toy! LOL

Ohhhh the images in my mind.

Debbie

Oh, Debbie, what precious images you've evoked!

All those little heads peeking over the dash, the look on the face of the person at the McD's window as we pass the happy meals over to the kits - and they reach out with those adorable "hands" to grab them, one kit holding a little hamburger between his two hands to eat it, another grasping french fries from a bag - or maybe we should order the apples and grapes instead, and finally the kits playing with their toys in the pool when they get home! How adorable. Wouldn't that just be the greatest.

LOL When I worked at McD's, there was a lady that came through the drive-thru with her little chihuahua in the back seat. She told me to hand him his bag with his burger in it, as she had us bag it separately. He took the bag in his little mouth, ever so politely!

Ahhh, how cute, KyWoods!

DebbiesDaisy, your post had me ROFLOL, because I actually lived that scenario years ago. One of my rehabber friends had to overwinter five baby raccoons who were too young to release in the fall. When the time for spring release came around, these kids were 6 - 7 months old - pretty darn big. And they had been handled only minimally for the last couple months, to help prepare them for release; so they were not exactly tame. The plan was to take them out to a fellow rehabber's place in the country (several hours' drive), where a huge wire enclosure, enclosing a good bit of forest understory, had been prepared for them. They would be cared for within the enclosure for a few days, then the door would be left open while food and water continued to be provided every day. They could leave whenever they were ready. This is called a "soft release," as opposed to simply taking them to a release site and cutting them loose (hard release).

Because I have a minivan, I offered to drive. When the day came, the adventure began. Catching these guys and securing them in cat carriers was a real adventure that took a couple hours: one little rascal led us on a merry chase and refused to let us catch him for the longest time. By the time everyone was safely confined, my buddy and I were feeling very filthy, very tired, very hungry, and very inept. We piled the carriers into the van and drove off, discussing which drive-in we wanted to hit for food en route to the release site.

A few miles down the road, the clever one in the crowd figured out how to use his clever little hands to open his cat carrier, and then released two of his buddies. Here we are in greater suburbia; you can't exactly stop the car and get out to try to recapture the kids, risking them getting loose in all the wrong place. So we're driving down the road with three raccoons loose in the van, getting priceless looks from people in neighboring cars at traffic lights. All the while I'm thanking heaven that I've gotten a rehabber's license, because there's every chance we'll be stopped and asked what the h...... we think we're doing.

We debated whether we should forget the idea of a food stop; but still had a long drive and a lot of work ahead when we arrived, and we needed to be sharp. It's interesting trying to communicate with the drive-in speaker with your window open only a crack. It's more interesting driving to the pickup window with your buddy trying to be everywhere at once, figuring out where all three are, letting me know when it was safe to quickly open the window, toss money, grab food, forgo change, and close the window in a matter of seconds. Let's just say that I don't think the pickup window worker will soon forget seeing a raccoon climb into the rear seat from the cargo area as my buddy hastily told me to get the window closed fast.

Needless to say, we shared; in fact, we were lucky to get in a mouthful every now and then. My favorite memories were of my buddy climbing over the seats to shove french fries through the doors for the kids who were still in carriers; and the kid who climbed the back of my seat to grab with paws at my hamburger every time I tried to snag a bite. We bought an extra burger that we used to lure them out of the van and into their enclosure when we arrived. I think the sight of their buddies' carriers in the enclosure had more to do with their voluntary exit than the burger, however.

Let's just say it was a memorable trip. And I'd love to have heard the conversations in the many cars we passed.

ROFLMBO!!!!! I would love to have seen the looks on the faces of the passersby! Smart li'l boogers, aren't they? Next time you'll have to remember to bring padlocks. LOL

Ruth -- That is an adorable - and hilarious - story! I love it. I want THAT job! I can just see the little bandits now climbing on you while you were trying to drive, reaching around your head to grab the burger. LOL! You must have had some wonderful experiences working with the little tykes! And I can only imagine the wide eyed stare of disbelief you must have gotten from the person at the window!

(Heck, I once drove up to the window with my 4.5lb, fluffy, fru-fru dog only to have the cashiere scream and run away. Another worker came over and said that the 1st one had a severe dog phobia. I could see being afraid of a rotweiller or doberman, but it was hard for me to imagine that anyone would be afraid of my little hairball with eyes. It's a good thing you didn't get a cashiere like that one. A van full of wild raccoons might have sent her back to therapy for years!)

A truly wonderful story, Ruth. You must share more of your raccoon experiences with us. (Did you get any photos while working with the raccoons?)

LOL, Cheryl about the psycho cashier! She must have had a horrible experience with a small dog. I simply cannot imagine that, unless it is a flashback from childhood. Of course, she may have had a run-in with one like my little Jekyll and Hyde lhasa mix...




Here he is, growling at Mommy:

When I went out last night, I only took the dog food as I had done the past 2 days. I didn't plan to stay, so there was no need for treats or bug spray. I would fill the various dishes and leave.

Still, I couldn't help but worry a bit that the kids might forget me; that after so many days of eating alone they might come to think that the food just "grew" there all on its own, and maybe they would even find that they preferred the solitude of dining without a human observer. Maybe when I did return they would ignore me, or worse, run away from me. Even as these fears tugged at my mind, I went out with all intentions of returning right away, but Juliet was standing atop the fence waiting in full view when I got there and once I saw that masked face I was hooked all over again. I had to stay. There is just something so addictive about those masked critters.

Juliet ate in a manner that I've seen before and I had to wonder if she knew what she was doing -- when she started eating from Heidi's dish and then obediently forfeited the 1/2 eaten dish of food for her own full dish later when Heidi approached. Hmm. Smart idea, no? Luckily, I recently added a 2nd dish beside Heidi's for the kids; otherwise, that 1/2 dish of food would never have been enough for all of them.

Backing up a bit, before Heidi arrived, Diva and Rupert showed up, once again traveling as a pair, side by side. They went well around Juliet to come up the path in the cottage garden to the dish I've been leaving for them at the head of the path, just 3ft to the right of my bench. Just before they reached the dish, Rupert sped up, got to the dish 1st, and grabbed a few bites before his mom arrived to push him aside. Realizing he was loosing that battle, he reached in one last time with both hands and grabbed all that he could hold which he then deposited in the grass where he could eat it.

That extra handful didn't last long, however. As soon as Rupert ran out of food, he looked up at me, paused for a moment, and then in a move that shocked me considering his prior fear of me, Rupert walked a few steps toward me, slowly, looking up at me as if to say, "Don't you have some food for me?" He had remembered that when Diva steals the food, I always toss him more (and he usually grabs it and runs away with it down the path).

As I reached to my other side to get some dog food for him, Rupert ran some 6-8ft down the path away from me, frightened by my movement. I called to him by name, "Rupert, Rupert" and instantly, he came back to me. This was not the 1st time I'd used his name to call him, but this time his response was so immediate as he hurried back to me. He came to about 1ft away and looked as though he would come closer still, but I tossed the food there, and this time he stayed there to eat it. Each time he ran out, he would look up at me again, and each time I leaned over to get more food, he would run away again only to return promptly on cue when called. We repeated this pattern a few more times until the arrival of Heidi and the kids sent him scurrying away down the path to hide in the perennials.

Once Diva ran out of food, BTW, she quickly moved in to eat the food that Rupert had left when frightened away. (Bad, bad Diva) I called Rupert a few more times. A few minutes later he emerged from the perennials, walked around behind me, and began eating from Fraidy's dish on the other side of me.

If that had been all that happened, I would have considered it a good evening, but soon after Heidi's kits arrived, one of them came over to me, stepped up onto my shoe, stood upright, put his front paw on my lower leg (I was wearing jeans so no touch), and looked up at me, nose in the air, as if to say "Hi, where have you been? Did you bring me anything?" It was SO nice to see that they hadn't forgotten me, and they even seemed happy to see me - no doubt because they remember that I bring them marshmallows, grapes, peanuts, etc - but that's good enough for me.

It was heartbreaking to have the little tyke show me such attention and to have no treat for him. He got down, hung around a bit, and then went back over to eat with his mom and siblings. Between the whole bunch of them they ate every speck of food. When they left (all at the same time because something scared them), I went back for some teddy grahams, but it was too late. They didn't return - none of them. The moment was over. But there would always be tomorrow.

(Unfortunately, tonight it was raining, so I had to leave the food once again. I had been so looking forward to taking treats to the kids...but there's always tomorrow...)

Ahhh, KyWoods, he's an angel! You must be telling stories on him. He's too cute to be bad. LOL!
He reminds me of Widget.

(BTW, last week when I came back from buying groceries, I put the bags on the kitchen floor by the fridge to unpack them. When I finished, I scratched my head because I couldn't find the package of crumbled Gorgonzola I'd bought for my salads. I even went back to double check the car. No Gorgonzola anywhere. I knew I put it in the buggy, so I figured maybe it got left out of the bags by mistake. 3 days later, it magically appeared in Widget's bed! Thankfully, at least he hadn't been able to open it and get it all over the house.

Then the other day I couldn't find the other 1/2 bag of marshmallows that was supposed to be on the baker's rack by the back door with the raccoon's food container. The next day, Widget was running around the house barfing everywhere. He was really, really sick. Soon after that I found the empty mm bag! On another occasion he stole a full stick of butter and ate that. He is SO bad! He used to stay in his crate while I was at work. I've only recently started letting his stay out by himself, and he seems to be having a blast!)

Some of you may worry that if the kits get too "tame" they will be at risk of approaching other humans. My experience with the group last summer and with the new kits this year all indicate that that isn't likely. To begin with, while they are fairly comfortable around me, they aren't tame by any means. They will run away if I move. In fact, when I mentioned that they all ran away, Heidi, Diva, and all the kits the other night, it was because I moved my foot when a mosquito bit me.

Another thing I probably haven't mentioned is that when the adult raccoons arrive, they always peek over the fence. Seeing that 1/2 raccoon face peeking over the fence at me is one of my favorite memories of them. Then when they recognize me they stick the rest of their head up above the fence. Some, like Heidi, sit amidst the foliage of a branch and peek out at me. When I see them, I call them, several times, and then they come down the fence. They always seem to prefer to be invited.

As far as equating me with all humans, when the kits showed up for the 1st time, they looked over at me with wide, terrified eyes and then looked around at the adults as if to say, "Don't you guys see the big, scary human?!" Heidi had already taught them to be afraid of humans. Then when she showed little fear of me, they learned to trust me, but they are still afraid of humans. They all run away at the slightest indication of a human voice even coming from the street in front of my house.

I know it's hard to understand. Last year I was a bit concerned myself, but I don't see any indication that they are loosing their fear of humans. In fact, when Heidi 1st returned in spring from her winter vacation, it took a while to renew our friendship. They are wild 1st and foremost.

I got waaaaaay behind on this delightful adventure, but just spent a glorious hour or so reading all the new chapter - and it's beyond wonderful!!!!

Truly, Cheryl, this has just got to be a book!

Carole

OK, I thought I had a decent understanding of phobias, but I find it hard to understand terror of a tiny, adorable fluffball Maltese. But then I found it equally hard to understand the grocery checker one day when I was buying a bag of cat litter. She lifted the bag as if it were toxic waste, all the while muttering, "eeww, eeww, gross." Clean bag of litter, not a cat in sight; what exactly was the problem here?

Cheryl, I had lots of (film not digital) photos of baby animals from my time working with the rehabbers, also many photos of shelter animals who'd been special to me over the years; that box was lost in the move from VA to NC. I guess I should be grateful that nothing of financial value was lost; but frankly would rather have those memories than some of the more costly stuff that arrived safely.

I don't understand how the raccoons have learned to trust you while maintaining their fear of humans at large; but know that they do, and am so grateful it's working that way. Preserving that wariness of humans is so important, and it seems to work beautifully for you.

Oh boy, I can imagine how sick a tiny dog would be after eating half a bag of marshmallows. Hopefully Widget learned his lesson, but I somehow doubt it.

The interactions with Rupert and Heidi's kit were precious. Diva is obviously still a b....ch, but it sounds like Rupert is learning to work around her. Good for him!

I wouldn't worry overmuch about defending yourself. Believe me, I did nothing to make those 6 raccoons feel welcome to my kitchen that one night, nor did I coo & cuddle them to convince them to try make a huge racket trying to bang open the sliding door after I'd locked it. Rather I screeched & chased them around with a broom.

Sometimes animals just do what they do.

Hi, Carole

What a wonderful and inspirational compliment! Thank you so very much! You guys have convinced me. I'm going to give it my best shot - and I'm gettng pretty excited about it. : D

BTW, love the book about Thistle!

Just a quick warning in case I get cut off mid-thought, we've been having some stormy weather - nothing bad, just regular storms and a lot of rain; but for some reason the power has been "blinking" off and resetting repeatedly off and on for hours. I'm surprised I still have wireless. This kind of thing usually causes my router to get in a funky state such that it needs to be reset. If that happens, I'm not likely to make the trek upstairs tonight to reset it, so...if I seem to stop in the middle of a conversation, that will be why. Of course, if that happens, I'll fix it tomorrow - just too lazey to plan a trip up there tonight.

Have I mentioned that I spent 25 years editing & writing for some of the best newspapers in the country? Plus I was a state spelling champion?

Always available to help writers who need it ..

LOL, Ruth! I've seen that same unbelievable behavior to which you refer - not with cat litter, but similar products. It never ceases to amaze me. Then one day I realized the "power" I had in my hand. I mean, imagine if you just carried around a clean bag of cat litter, like garlic, to ward off the vampires and such. It's an idea.

Oh, Ruth, I'm SO sorry to hear that you've lost your photos. I've done my share of moving over the years and have lost lots of irreplaceable personal items and/or otherwise gotten rid of them to lighten the load - only to miss them later. Sadly, photos seem to be especially susceptible to this kind of attrition. Isn't it so true, though, that the items with the greatest monetary value are rarely the most important to us.

(As the power has cycled several times since my last post, I'm going to do this response in sections - trying not to loose anything...)

Well, thank you, summerkid. I will certainly keep that in mind. (LOL, because if you've been reading this thread you must know that I can certainly use all the spelling help I can get.)

I have never had any aptitude for spelling. In grade school I excelled in math, English, and science so my teachers always (erroniously) chose ME to represent the school in spelling competitions - which was just the most ridiculous mistake. There had to be many other students who were actually qualified for the task. Needless to say, my school never won any trophies for spelling while I was there! (If there are any teachers out there reading this, let this be a warning to chose wisely. LOL)

Ruth,

I'm sure you must have lots of other wonderful and heartwarming stories from your days working with the raccoons. I hope that you will share some more of them with us.

As for the raccoons keeping their fear of humans, I really don't think that's a problem. They still keep one eye on me most of the time - just in case; and they are inclined to split the instant they hear another human anywhere in the neighborhood. I once read that raccoons are unique in there ability to go from "tame" and/or raised by people to fully wild in as little as 6 mo. time. I've noticed that there is a lot of confusion and conflicting information out there about raccoons but I'm inclined to believe that one. It seems to be at the heart of your (rehabber's) ability to raise raccoon orphans and release them into the wild without worrying that they will approach every human they see.

The one variable that these kits have that "yours" didn't is a mother - as well as aunts and other community adults. They very definitely learn by example and look to Heidi and the others for behavioral guidance. As each group of kits 1st arrived I could so clearly see them looking quizically at me and at the other raccoons trying to understand why the others were not running away. I really think it all goes back to Heidi. For whatever reason, she decided to trust me but is still quite afraid of other humans. The others, whether her children or "party crashers" 1st learned to approach me by watching her. I think the kits "understand" to trust me and still run from everybody else because that's what their mother does. (Heidi seems to be the key to all of this. I'm not so sure that this will even be possible when she is no longer with us.)

Don't get me started about Diva, she was bad, bad, bad tonight. If it weren't for Rupert I'd be less inclined to accomodate her depraved behavior. Tonight - among other things - she went after Rupert, and I mean snarling, teeth flashing. I was starting to think she was rabid for sure. She is definitely the wild card in the bunch.

summerkid -- you make a good point about the raccoons in your house. I'd forgotten about that. I guess you didn't invite them. LOL. Now that you mention it, my 1st few up close meeting with Heidi involved a broom ...and a rake...and a water gun...and a soup can...and countless other items, not one of which worked as you can see.

Writing and editing for newspapers must have been a most enjoyable career, BTW.

Poor little Rupert! He is a true survivor to have to deal with such a rotten mother. I bet she had others and Rupert was the sole survivor. She does not seem to be learning much from him. I am glad you have the racoon diner/playground or the little guy would have no positive influence to gain the life skills he will need later on.

BTW, I write for a living, too - software - I know, I know, that doesn't count; but I do spell everything correctly in software - mostly because I have to. Computers are not nearly so forgiving as human readers; either you spell it right or they just don't communicate with you.

Lots of stuff happened tonight - because I actually sat out there in the rain. Yes, I AM that crazy! But, alas, I'll have to wait to write it up tomorrow. I need to get to bed early tonight.

(I had put the food in 2 dishes and stored it under the chair to protect it from the rain, but the more I thought about it the more concerned I became that either Juliet or Diva would keep Heidi's kits from eating - with all of the food in one spot that way. Just after dark when I went out to get the birdfeeder I heard a lot of fighting back there so, peanuts in hand, I went out to sit in the rain and act as referee.)

Thank you, tetleytuna. I'll have to wait to tell the whole story, but I wish you could have been there tonight to see it all. I can call Rupert!!! He knows his name. He really, really does. He was maybe 12ft away with his back to me sitting like a little squirrel. When I called his name, he turned around - instantly, and looked right at me. I tossed him a large peanut. A few minutes later, I did it again, Again he looked up from what he was doing the minute I called his name, and again I gave him a peanut.

Fraidy was also there. I called her and looked right at Rupert. He didn't even flinch, didn't look at me, didn't show any sign of even hearing me. For a while, Diva was in the pool fishing for peanuts and Rupert was over in the veggie patch. I would call him. He would come out, come right over to me, get his peanut and then run back into the weeds. He was afraid of Juliet who was on the other side of me, but over and over, I would call him and he would come for a peanut. He was SO cute.

But the real test came later when something scared him and he ran over to the fence post under the Heidi tree. I didn't want him to leave. I had managed to make a place for him to eat from the dish under the chair. I started calling him by name. He was 20 or more feet away in the dark, standing at the post and ready to leave; but when I called him, Rupert came back - and he not only came back to the feeding area, he came to me. I showed him the food and he ate his fill. : D

I am SO not kidding, Rupert knows his name, and he comes when I call him.

Way to go with Rupert mom! You will have to be careful that you do not sprout a ringed tail soon............... :^)

LOL, tetleytuna! She would make a great 'coon mom!

Speaking of raccoon kids and bad moms, it seems like it's been ages since I last saw a baby with Juliet. Again tonight she was out there alone. I could have sworn she started out with 3, then for a while she only brought 2, then 1, and lately none. I'm starting to think she's eating them - like for a snack or something. At the very least, she doesn't seem to be taking them out with her much.

One thing I noticed tonight is that Heidi's kits have grown a LOT. They are now bigger than Rupert even though Rupert is the oldest. Think about that, Heidi had at least 3 to feed and tend to while Diva only had the one. Rupert started out noticeably larger than any of the others, but now Heidi's kits are larger.

Another difference I've been meaning to point out is in how the moms bring their respective kids to dinner. Both Diva and Juliet let their kids climb over and/or along the fence with them, sometimes even running ahead of them. Heidi, on the other hand, always leaves her kids in the tree and comes down alone. Often she emerges on the fence in a different location than where the kids are stashed. You can't even tell that the kids are with her - except I've learned to detect her checking out the tree sometimes. After she eats for a minute or two and makes sure the coast is clear, then she signals for them to come down. It's quite, well, for lack of a better word, professional.

Edited to fix typo - yep, I sure could use some help with profreading and spelling.;-)

This message was edited Sep 13, 2007 11:40 PM

: D)

ROTFLOL! And with a BIG smile, tetleytuna!

Thank you, KyWoods!

(Is the thread getting long/slow? I think I'll change it tomorrow.)

Thanks for asking, Cheryl, but so far my dial-up is still keeping up.

Oh good grief, attacking your own kit is an all-time low, even for Diva. Wish there were some kind of birth control you could put in her food: that is a girl who should NOT become a mother again. It's really cool that Rupert knows his name and comes to you when called. It's also not surprising, when you think how starved for positive attention that kid must be. Ditto with the weight difference between him and Heidi's kits; having a caring mother makes a HUGE difference. I agree with tetleytuna that Diva probably started out with more than one kit. Originally I thought the others must have been lost to predators due to her complete inattention and indiffence, but after what you said tonight, maybe she attacked them when they annoyed her. At this point very little would surprise me from her, at least of a negative example.

It's worrisome that Juliet never brings the kids any more. They are old enough to be spending a lot of time out of the nest, and she should be teaching them the survival skills they need. If she abandoned them at this age, they have very little hope of surviving.

You're absolutely right, Cheryl, that raccoons transition very well from hand-raising to life in the wild. Honestly, this is true of most mammals. The biggest problems for rehabbers are waterfowl, esp. ducks (yes, I know they're not mammals) and deer. These guys really imprint on humans; it can be truly hilarious when a bunch of ducklings follow you or your dog around, convinced you're all the same species and you're mama, but it's really bad news for their later survival in the wild. Baby deer are usually fed with bottles on a rack, no human hands involved, to avoid imprinting.

With most mammals, the soft release described in my adventure above is key to their successful transition to wild life: gradually decreased handling/interaction in the weeks before release, then release in a safe spot where food and water are provided without human contact for as long as the kids need it. The coons (and other mammals) who wind up approaching people fearlessly after release, expecting food, are usually raised by well-intentioned amateurs and given a hard release (i.e. just taken out somewhere and turned loose). They usually have not been taught foraging skills, and know no other way to get food than through humans. If they approach people in daylight who have heard that this behavior is a sign of rabies, it can end very badly.

BTW, thanks much for the compliment and request for more rehabbing adventures. I'd be happy to comply, but a picture is worth a thousand words and my photos are long gone. I'm happy to just enjoy your unfolding story, which tells much more than I could about the coons' natural behavior in the wild (or at least the wilds of your backyard).