here is Heidi eating from her hole in the ground. the hole is getting kind of deep now. you can see her back feet on either side as she squats over the hole to eat. she seems to like to eat from the hole. i guess it makes it easier for her to defend her food from others especially her grow kids like Timba who often try to run by and grab something.
Scutler, I'm getting caught up on the post and at the same time enjoying your pictures. What kind of camera do you use?
My momma showed up for some handout Thursday night and she seemed to enjoy the bread, egg and yogurt but didn't take the cut up apple. Maybe she was full or maybe she just doesn't like apple. I will try it again.
We are in a winter storm watch for tonight, but nothing like they are getting and have gotten in SD but I'm sure who ever is working tonight will give momma something to eat.
I hope everyone is having a great day.
Annie
Susan, 9 kittymom, nice to see you here, I have to visit the hosta forum and see what is happening.
Annie
I haven't been over there in so long I deon't know whatis happening myself.
We are snowed in and starting to get cold because the eletricity is off and I can't type on this laptop so excuse tyhe typos.
Trying to decide if it is worth it to go get the generator running and havethe electric come back on. Hey, aybe that is what we should do.
This is the pits, I am afraid it is ruining my hostas too. :(((
Susan
=^..^=
Hi Annie,
I'm using a Nikon 8800: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Nikon/nikon_cp8800.asp
It's obsolete now but still a good camera. Even now they are still selling for around $800 new and $400 to $600 used depending on condition. Mine is 'broken' such that I have to reboot between shots. Need to send it off for repair but hate to be without it.
I'm not a great photographer to begin with, and there are numerous problems to overcome when trying to take pictures of the raccoons out there in the dark. For starters I cannot see to compose the shot. I can't see anything on the LCD or through the view finder. Both are just black. Thankfully, the camera has an IR light that I can use to get an idea as to whether the raccoon is in the picture area. When I depress the IR button, if the raccoon lights up in red, he is in the picture area. I can only zoom a little and must be careful with that because, again, I can't see what I'm shooting, so even if the red light shines on the raccoon, if I zoom too much I may get a close up of the body with the head and legs clipped off, for instance. Also, because I can't see through the viewfinder or the LCD, I can't focus the camera. I have to depend on auto focus which may or may not focus on the thing I want it to. Thankfully, the camera is pretty high res, so I can take a picture w/o zoom and then zoom and clip on the computer to make a decent resolution pic from a tiny raccoon that started out as blip in a bigger picture.
The camera and I take a much better picture in daylight. : )
Someday I hope to get a new camera but buying 2 new heat pumps for the house wiped me out last year so this one may have to do for a while.
Because I watch my raccoons while they are eating as opposed to just checking to see what is gone the next day, I get to see what they really like. Also, since my raccoons are a bit spoiled, again, I see what they choose 1st when they aren't starving. If they are hungry enough, they will eat just about anything. Also, I will see them all walking over and around a particular item that they don't particularly like, but it will be gone by morning. The raccoons may have eaten it eventually when everything else was gone or it may have been eaten by opossums or mice or whatever.
Of the items you mentioned, raw eggs and yogurt are quite popular with my crowd. Bread is less so, but it depends and someone will usually eat it. Bread is much more coveted, BTW, if I put something like syrup or frosting or jelly/jam on it, even a very thin spread of such. They definitely eat apples. I have seen the raccoons eat apples before, but apples are one of those things that some raccoons like and others don't. I've never left an apple out and found it still there by morning but I have seen some raccoons walk away from apples. Heidi, for instance, never eats apples nor does Dennis.
There are some foods that seem to be universal foods they all like. Examples would be: dry cat food, dry dog food, also dry puppy and kitten food, grapes, and peanuts. Raw eggs and yogurt are close behind. Most raccoons like them. Other foods are loved by one raccoon and eschewed by others. Examples would be: watermelon (about 1/2 the group will fight over it while others want nothing to do with it), cantaloupe, marshmallows, etc. They may eat bread, esp whole grain bread. It depends on how hungry they are. It's not usually a big favorite unless you put something on it. Most of them like sweets: syrup, jelly, frosting, cake, cookies, candy, etc. Vanilla is preferred over chocolate, i.e., yellow or white cake or cupcakes with white frosting, vanilla sandwich cookies are preferred over devil's food cake and chocolate sandwich cookies or even choc chip cookies. They also like peanuts and peanut butter. Reese's pieces are preferred over M&M's with my crowd. They also like the peanut butter cooking chips and sometimes the butterscotch ones. In lieu of bread, I have often found that they show a preference for biscuits, both the ones left over from fast food breakfasts and the refrigerated kind. I used to buy the canned biscuits and cook them for the raccoons occasionally. Oh, and as water is not always readily available in the wild, I try to avoid giving them salty things. I only buy unsalted peanuts, usually raw (dried not green) but sometimes roasted. Once when I got the salted ones by mistake, Heidi, who normally loves peanuts, wisely refused to touch them.
Hi Susan,
It is starting to get hot here lately, so I forget that is still snowing and icing out there some places. Sorry to hear that you don't have power. That is the pits. It might be wise to get the generator ready before dark. I'll bet the hostas will be fine. Hope so.
Here is a pic of one of the raccoons leaving by way of the Heidi tree (too far away for a decent pic in the dark as the flash barely makes it over there). Years ago I tagged this tree the Heidi tree because it is the one where Heidi sits (where the branch joins the trunk just to the right of the raccoon) to wait for me in summer. This is the tree Heidi uses most for entering and exiting the yard. The others use it, too, especially Heidi's grown kits who learned from her. This is also the tree where Heidi is most likely to leave her young babies the 1st few times she brings them along and leaves them in a nearby tree to observe. She does this many times before finally allowing them to follow her into the yard for the 1st time. The youtube video of Heidi's babies in the tree was taken in this tree.
Edited to add that the raccoons climb from the fence up to the trunk by way of the lattice of tiny, thin branches you can barely see in the photo. By the time they are 4-6mo old they can manuever on those branches like monkeys and walk the tiny branches like a Wallendo, but I have watched they young kits struggle with the branches often ending up hanging upside down from one and stuggling to get upright again, something one never sees from an adult raccoon.
This message was edited Mar 28, 2009 5:31 PM
One of the youngsters eating leftovers from Heidi's 'dish'.
Bast w/jelly
Here is one of the youngsters. She was eating a moment earlier but stopped because she heard something over in the neighbors yard. Here she is seen inspecting the sound.
Here is little Timba. She's a bit timid of the others but will come to me. I think she is pretty. She has HRH's coloring and a slightly longer fur than usual. Not sure if that may also be from HRH's side.
timba again
timba appearing to sniff a flower (illusion).
Here is a raccoon arriving. She is on the lower limb of the little cherry tree. You will hear me mention it from time to time as it is also a favorite entry point for the raccoons. (This was HRH's favorite entrance. There was another, lower limb on this tree which everyone used. One day it broke off under HRH's weight and he went straight down still standing on the now airborn limb as he disappeared behind the fence.)
These pics over by the fence are just too far away for the flash to do much good, and it's black dark over there. Still, I figured the pics would help you to visualize what I'm talking about with the Heidi tree (above) and the cherry tree and how they enter and exit.
Here is that same raccoon moments earlier when she 1st peeked over the fence. I've mentioned this look many times as I find it rather adorable as the raccoons arrive and peek over the fence at me. Of course, for me it is not so well lit as it appears here with the flash remnants (and a bit of photoshopping). When I see those faces appear above the fence, they are just barely visible, so faint as to appear like a mirage. In the dark those faces blend so well with the forest behind/around them as to remind me of those child's puzzle pages that ask "can you find the xyz?"
I was thinking again about the thing with Bast last night. Bast won't let me pet her. When I try to touch her back she moves away from my hand. They are less comfortable having their heads petted than their backs - you know how you are told not to try to pet a strange dog's head as they may mistake that move for an attack. So Bast won't let me pet her, yet she stood still for me to pop her on the head not just once but twice - and trust me when I tell you that human reaction time is an eternity in raccoon time.
Hmm. Very strange. Raccoons are certainly strange creatures. I still think they may be aliens from out of space who have come here to watch and observe us. ;-)
Or perhaps to train us for something....
My rescue cat, Jazz, is much like that. I saved him from near death on the interstate, and he is terrified of loud noises, and hands that go behind his head, but he will sit in my lap for hours and let me rub his ears, nose, brow, chin, but only from the front. He is a sweetheart of a cat, an inside cat, but I cannot pet his head or put my hand on his back from the front. he will back away every time.
I got him when he was about 4 weeks old and weighed 14 ounces. He is two now and is huge and beautiful.
This photo is when I was painting my ceilings not long ago. He did not like the upheaval in the house, and let me know it. I can pick him up, do anything, but cannot put my hand behind his head. He never fights, but backs away. I think it is a defense mechanism.
I love your pictures, thanks so much for sharing.
Thanks, Sharran,
He's a beautiful kitty cat, and I can see that he not thrilled with the upheaval in his house due to painting.
I was saying that Bast doesn't let me reach my hand up there to pet her, yet, oddly enough she stood still for me to pop her on the head - twice. I understand why they move away when I try to pet them, just find it odd that she stood still for a spanking. : )
LOL, maybe she knew she had it coming.
Aw, Sharon, he's lovely! Our cat, also a rescue when he was a kitten, acts much the same. He loves to sit on the back of my desk chair and "comb" my hair with his claws, and runs to lie on my lap when I sit on the sofa, and when I go to bed (but only until DH comes to bed--then he's off like a shot!), but he hates to have his head or ears touched. He'll sometimes endure me scritching around his ears for a minute, but will suddenly have had enough, and turn like lightning to oh, so gently bite my hand and let me know to stop. He's never bitten down hard, and I've stopped reacting quite so strongly when he does it, but do wish he'd give SOME sort of warning before he resorted to holding my hand still with his teeth! He doesn't even like to be petted much. Just likes to lie on me, as long as he is in control. Just like a cat, huh?
Awww, beautiful kitties! I so hope my Kitty Coon isn't pregnant, but she's got a round belly on her. A momma coon came by to eat tonight, looking like she was ready to pop any second. It's about that time of year here!
Just went to the back door and turned on the light. I was late and it was raining, a steady, medium rate, hard enough that I cringed at the thought of it striking my skin and hair. I didn't see a raccoon in sight. The patio was bare. Still I filled the bucket with puppy chow and grabbed a handful of cookies for my pocket. Before I had finished putting my boots on I spotted Bast coming to the door with Dennis behind her. They had seen me turn on the outside lights and had known that as a sign that I was on the way. They had come to get me.
Everyone except Dennis always runs ahead when I open the door to step out. Only Dennis stands beside the door to wait for me there. Realizing this, last night I had handed her a mm as I stepped out. Tonight as I stepped out, I reached into my pocket and passed her a cookie. Since everyone else Bast included runs ahead to the buffet, they don't see this. This has the benefit of keeping Dennis busy so she lags behind and doesn't get into it with Bast when I arrive at the buffet.
It was raining hard enough for water to begin to collect in the bucket, so I didn't stay very long. I sat down for a minute or two to give Dennis her cookies. After I had set some boundaries and ground rules last night, Bast was very well behaved tonight and much, much better to be around. She minded her own business and ate her food. I gave her a cookie. When she had finished that one she came back to ask for another, but this time she was considerably more polite about it, and when I said "no" (because there were no more), she turned and went back to her food without trying to grab the bucket and such as she had done the night before.
KyWoods,
I did have to laugh when I read your post about Bast knowing she had it coming. I actually do think there may be something to that. She knew she was poking her nose where it wasn't supposed to be and she knew I had told her several times to cut it out. I kind of think she did understand that she 'asked for it'.
On the other hand I cringed to hear about your potential population explosion. It is that time and as wonderful as it would be if Kitty Coon could stay 'single' forever, it isn't very likely. I gather that you do know she's a female, right? It's a shame you weren't able to catch her when she was a youngster. I feel your pain. It's that time of year here, too. I don't think my yard is big enough to hold them all anymore.
I don't think all of those brown spots on Bast are ticks, Cheryl, especially the ones well between her ears. They are more likely food crumbs from the kibble. Ticks are basically pretty lazy, and prefer to latch on where there isn't a lot of fur blocking their access to skin and blood supply. In wildlife, you most often see them on or in the ears, sometimes on the underside of the paws. Of course if the animal is heavily infested, you find them everywhere; and the poor animal is usually anemic or borderline anemic as a result.
Whoa! I know how frustrated/annoyed you must have been to bop Bast on her head, however gently. I'm not surprised that she didn't fight back, but am surprised that she didn't back away. Clearly you have earned not only a trusted status with the raccoons (even those who didn't grow up around you), but a healthy measure of respect. That is awesome. And hey, your tactic - however unplanned - seems to have gotten across the point: congratulations!
You're absolutely right, BTW: raccoons standing upright are curious. It is not an aggressive posture, ever; it is not a natural posture, is somewhat difficult to maintain, and leaves far too many vulnerable areas exposed. Raccoons expressing aggression, or planning to charge, are low to the ground protecting the vulnerable belly and genitals. This seems, in my experience, to hold true even when the raccoon is very ill or rabid - leading me to believe it is very hard-wired for them.
And yes, despite popular belief, I've never met a wild animal of any species who is inherently vicious. This is most definitely true of raccoons, who are among the most intelligent, curious, and fascinating animals I worked with. Even the heartbreakingly ill/rabid raccoons I encountered would always prefer escape to attack, assuming there was a way to escape and that they were well enough to do so.
Now a single racoon in the wild I would expect it to growl and show teeth and maybe try and attack or bite, but not Cheryls gang.
Even with bopping Bast, I imagine Bast knows hey this is food source and maybe even thinks of ya as a big racoon just abit different and your bopping maybe genrated to her way of thinking that was yoru push and shive steal move. You made noise s right before hand, so she knew ya was upset abotu something and then the bop the steal.
All your kitties are beautiful
All my kitties are rescues, 12 in all,
Lemeau,3 legged black cat, someone shot him, the vet took the leg off at the shoulder
Goldie- polydactyl, had kidney stones removed about 6 weeks after Lemeau was shot.
Geraldine AKA Fluffy, and Pauline, AkA MIssy, my little convicts. These two girls were litter mates born at the prison. Long story short, the nurse next door works there, and the momma could stay but not the kittens. she took the boys I took the girls
Pest aka "You better run". When she came to us I was afraid the girls would beat her up, well, that didn't happen! She lived on the streets and could handle herself quite well. One day I saw Geraldine and Pauline flying down the steps with Pest right on their heels.
Then came Pinky, A baby farel that lived outside in our garage all one winter, we set up a feeding station and ran a heat lamp for her, In the spring we finally captured her the following spring At this time, we still had our beloved Collie and when we went for walks, Pinky of course would come along.
Then a poor grey skinny cat that eventually I named Momma, after she blessed us with 5 babies. and their names are
Clara, then we changed it to Clyde when we found out he was a boy
Eddie
Dorothy
Dolores
Bobbie
So these are the critters at my house. All are fixed except for 2 of the girls and that will happen here very soon. If they are going to live at my property they shall be fixed.
By the way, I think I own at least a couple chairs in the waiting room of my vets. and I know he loves me :O) :O)
My momma raccoon at work has never hissed or growled at me.
Annie
and yes, I always take kitty food in for momma raccoon at work.
Now I will (1) fess up & (2) attempt to dispel yet another raccoon myth - or 2.
The photo below shows the pool after 2 wks w/o cleaning. Bad, bad Cheryl! I need to soak the thing with bleach again to kill whatever green stuff is living in there as it multiplies quickly turning clean water into this black lagoon sludge in about a week. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it.) So that's the fessing up part. I had been trying to keep the pool water out of the photos.
So for the dispelling of myths part, as you can see the youngster in the photo does not seem at all turned off by that black goop in which she is standing. I have found that no matter how disgusting the water may get, the raccoons will continue to play in it, eat from it, 'wash' their food in it, and, yes, even drink it. They appear to contain some kind of internal filter for turning extracting pure food and water from any kind of sludge.
They do, however, appear to greatly appreciate pure, clean water. Once when I cleaned the pool after a few weeks of this sludge, every kit who arrived could be seen heading to the pool with some toy in her mouth. Looking for all the world like humans carrying floatation devices and sunscreen the pool they would invariably arrive at poolside to find it already occupied and, I kid you not, could be seen standing their a few feet away, toy in mouth, looking quite frustrated and disappointed to find that it was not their turn after all. As quickly as one raccoon got out, a couple more would get in each with her own toy. By the end of the night they had filled the pool and surrounding area with toys I hadn't seen in ages (which apparently had been stowed somewhere on the property, location remembered by the 'owner') and the once clean water already filled with dirt from all those feet.
Still, no matter how disgusting the water may become, as soon as they arrive at the buffet, one or more youngsters will get into the pool and start 'looking' for food in their. This I have determined is a cue for me to toss something in there, treats, kibble, anything will do as long as it is in water. I say this because after the kit feels around in the 'empty' water for a few minutes, if I don't automatically toss some food in their, she will come over to the edge of the pool and stand facing me as if to say, "Well, what's the problem over there? Where is the food?". Oh, and the pool is virtually never empty, not for more than a minute or so. As soon as one kit or group of kits gets out, others get in no matter how dirty the water. Sometimes they even fight over pool rights even rights to the black lagoon seen here.
There is no possible way that they are 'washing' the food to clean it, not in that bacteria and fungus laden slime. I have long since concluded that Ruth's earlier suggestion is the right one, at least far as we humans can know. I think raccoons just instinctively like the tactile sensation of feeling things and especially in water. In the wild they often find a lot of their food in water, so I imagine this urge to forage around in water in search of edible stuff has served the species well. I really, really don't think they are trying to clean anything, not in that water.
To think I thought the little mask bandits took it to the extreme.about washing their food. Wow, I learn something new everyday
Annie
This message was edited Mar 29, 2009 1:16 PM
Our coons wash their muddy paws in the water dish every night, and esp. since it's been raining, it's black every morning. I take out two jugs of water, one with hot soapy water and one with clean water to rinse and refill it. It will be nice when we can turn on the outside faucets again! Still too early in the season.
These days with so many raccoons around, I have to take advantage of every opportunity to sneak a moment with Dennis and an opportunity to giver her a treat. Tonight when I went to the back door and turned on the outside lights, everybody except Dennis ran. I opened the door and handed Dennis a cookie. She stood up and reached up with her little hands to take it. : )
On the way out to the buffet, Bast was growling at everyone including Heidi, but she (Bast) did seem to listen when I told her to cut it out. Once out there I put Bast's food behind me and Dennis' beside me. While i was away filling Heidi's 'bowl', Bast took Dennis' spot. When I returned to the bench, I used the bucket to gently 'push' Bast away. She took the hint and went back to her assigned spot allowing Dennis to come back to hers.
Things went well for a while. I counted an amazing 18 raccoons, I think. It is, after all, a bit difficult to count them all since they aren't guaranteed to stay in one spot. The density is rather amazing. As long as the food lasts they managed to eat only 8-10in apart. Once the well started to run dry though, the pushing, shoving, grumbling and growling began. Near the end of the meal, Bast came back again to try to take Dennis' spot. Once again I used the bucket, now empty, to gently suggest to Bast that she should go elsewhere. That worked. She left Dennis and headed for Heidi who still had a good bit of food, but Heidi let her know in no uncertain terms to forget it, so Bast went elsewhere. After that I lost her somewhere in the crowd.
Heidi had plenty of food because I always give her the most food. I give Dennis a good handful or two and Bast a similar quantity - just to keep her busy. I toss the remaining food around for all of the others. Most of them are young. I figure they will get some food but will have to spend some time looking for additional food to supplement their meal.
Near the end of the meal a rather timid youngster who had arrived late and hadn't been able to get much food set her sights on Heidi's ample supply. Several times she tried to sneak up and eat with Heidi. From Heidi's reaction I suspect that this may have been one of Heidi's kits. I've begun to notice a difference between tone in dealing with her yearling kids and her tone in dealing with the others. She'll run them all off, but her tone is much gentler most of the time when dealing with the yearlings.
When they get hungry enough and food is scarce, Heidi's grown kits, the yearlings, will often try to see if they can eat with mom like in the old days. She has to tell them, "no". They have to learn to be on their own now. But she tries to be gentle with them. I can definitely see that. As a result, sometimes when I give her an egg or watermelon or something and she doesn't eat it right away, they will run up and grab it. She fusses at them, but lets them get away with taking things she doesn't want anyhow. Seems like moms and grown kids are the same everywhere regardless of species. ; )
So the hungry kit kept hanging around near Heidi but mostly at a respectable distance except when from time to time she would try to sneak up to see if she could join mom. Each time, Heidi would catch her often at the last minute and send her away, but the hungry youngster continued. Finally, when Heidi had managed to eat about 2/3 of her food, the kit managed to sneak up close enough to quickly throw her body into the hole from which Heidi was eating (Heidi's bowl). Heidi grumbled and protested, and tried to push back, but the kit was covering the food. Even though the kit was noticeably smaller than Heidi, Heidi could not push her out of the hole, and rules are rules. The kit had won fair and square, and Heidi had, after all, already eaten a good scoop and 1/2 of food, more than any of the others and certainly her share and then some; thus it was that after grumbling a bit to express her discontent at having to give up the remains of her meal before she wanted to, Heidi, none the less, turned and left the yard leaving the kit to eat. Unfortunately, the kit was only able to eat unfettered for a few minutes before 2 others showed up to contest her rights to what was by then the only remaining food other than the scarce bits scattered here and there and time consuming to find.
After most of the raccoons had given up and left for the evening to seek food elsewhere, I went back to the house for a pocketful of those jelly packets. I popped the tops and passed them around. One thing I like about them is that they keep the individual raccoons occupied for a little while so the 1st one to get a packet isn't begging for more before i have a chance to give one to each of the others - as would happen with a cookie, for instance. The bad part is that I have to go out there and pick up the empty packets, but I'll just think of that as exercise.
The amusing part came at the very end of the evening. Bast had come back and had taken over Dennis' spot. There wasn't much left by that time, so I let her get away with it. Bast was, therefore eating on my right side up close to me, so close that I could often only see her from the shoulders back when I looked down. Dennis was on my left side. I had given out the last of the jelly packets already and was trying to collect the foil tops from the table top where I had put them. One of the youngsters who wanted more was standing upright on the other side of the table and despite seeing my hand there picking up the foil pieces, the kit tried to reach across the table and grab a few. Not wanting to also have to pick those up tomorrow, I said, "No!" to the kit. Still, with the speed of a snake strike the youngster's paw shot across the table once more trying again to nab a bit of that jelly scented foil. "NO!" I said again. Out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of Bast's backside as she took off for the pool. It was clear that Bast remember that word. I had used it a few times the other night before I smacked her and had used it again when I smacked her. She didn't know what she was doing wrong this time, but she wasn't about to stick around to find out. LOL.
Raccoons are smart. They learn fast. And Bast is smarter than average I do think.
Thanks, Ruth!
That makes sense about the ticks. It's good to know that all those dots aren't ticks, because I'm not about to try to pull ticks off Ms Bast - especially not right now while she's in that nasty hormonal mood. Trust, respect, and good food for bribery will only get one just so far, after all, and I think that might be pushing the envelope.
I was also a bit surprised and very glad to see that Bast was right back standing (gently) at my knee a short while after the head bopping incident. From this I inferred that it hadn't effected her trust of me, an important issue when dealing with a wild animal. She seemed to take the matter in much the same vein as when one raccoon whacks another in a mock display to say, "Back off and get away from my food!"
Regarding standing upright, when you say, "it is not a natural posture", are you thinking that it is only an artifact of the unnatural situation in my yard? If so, I'm not so sure about that. I agree that it's not a natural position for fighting, and your explanation of why makes a lot of sense (and I hadn't thought of that); but while the raccoons do stand in their interactions with me as with Dennis standing at my knee for treats and Jerry standing in the background to get attention (again for treats), they also stand for other reasons which seem unrelated to me. Frequently, I see raccoons who are on the other side of the yard, even ones who don't tend to interact with me, stand upright when they hear a sound and want to get a better look to see if it is something they should be concerned about. They will stand (although not nearly so high and straight as Jerry does when trying to get attention) to look over the tall grass, weeds, and plants when they hear a sound up near the house, for instance. They don't stay upright long. I guess since the sound is coming from some distance away they aren't particularly concerned at that point about what parts they are exposing. I see them do this often though when they are trying to assess a sound in the distance, so I figure it must be something they would do in the wild under similar circumstances. I also saw a couple of youngsters standing at my back door looking in a couple years before I started interacting with them at all - except to try to keep them away from the bird seed, that is.
A couple of years ago several people had expressed concern about whether raccoons standing upright might be acting aggressively. I figure most of us don't know exactly what the signs are with raccoons or how to tell when they are angry or being defensive. We at least think we know what to look for with dogs - although we aren't always right then either - but with raccoons we have no idea. After watching them for 3 yrs now, I've noticed a range of aggressive behavior ranging from the fairly benign grumble to the warning growl and the ultimate, dead serious, "no kidding", head down, ears flat with clicking sound. The latter, from what I've seen, appears to be the surest sign of trouble, so I figured I'd pass that info along. That seems to be the raccoon equivalent of the dog who is growling while baring his teeth or the rattlesnake working that rattle. From all appearances it seems to be the last warning before an all out assault.
I've never seen a raccoon behave aggressively toward me, of course, and I doubt that anyone else will as I find that, as you say, they are much more likely to run away if that is an option. Seems for the most part, they do most of their fighting with each other. Still, from what I've heard it seems people are concerned about how to 'read' raccoons and how to know when they are expressing aggression. I figure if they know the signs, both what is and isn't aggression, it will help improve human-raccoon communications. Well, that was my hope anyhow.
LOL, starlight!
Wasn't it you who told me last year that I need to 'get my raccoon on' and start doing that Shove and Steal thing to handle those problem raccoons? Well, there you go. I did it.
Annie,
I thought 'ocd' was cute there. : )
KyWoods,
Wow! That sounds like a lot of work. Now I feel really bad for not keeping the water clean.
I guess every area has it's problems (and benefits). I love talking to all of you from around the country (and world). I learn so much about life in other areas. It never occurred to me that you couldn't use the outside faucets in winter much less spring. Around here I have the hose out year round. Sometimes (often really) I even forget and leave it attached to the faucet on the really cold nights (really cold = 25-28). I even left it attached on that exceptionally cold night when the pipes froze. I have brass quick connects on both hoses and faucets to make it easy to connect and disconnect, but I forget more often than I remember. (Of course, as I'm quick to point out, we have our own troubles here, most of which occur in summer.)
No, no, Cheryl; I wasn't suggesting that the upright stance is a product of their time at the diner. Raccoons will "stand at attention," as you've noted, when something at a distance attracts their attention and they want to see and/or hear it better. By saying it wasn't a natural posture, I just meant that, unlike bears for example, the raccoon is not anatomically designed for the position, and they typically don't hold it very long. And unlike bears and people, raccoons have virtually no whole-body mobility while standing upright; so for defensive or aggressive purposes, standing upright puts them at a huge disadvantage. And I agree that it's important for people to recognize aggressive postures in any animal they're going to be dealing with. If, for example, one's dog is foolish enough to effectively corner a raccoon and prevent escape, one should know that when the raccoon is flat to the ground and making threatening noises, you have only seconds left to call the dog away before the dog will be wearing a very very angry coon. Raccoons very rarely win a battle with a large dog, and always prefer to escape, but the dog will not emerge unscathed.
And I applaud your decision to refrain from trying to de-tick Bast; like you, I think that would be pushing the envelope much too far (lol).
Re the wAshing of their food: They need to wet it, because their saliva glands do not put out enough saliva. OR: they may not HAVE saliva glands, I can't remember which! But you're right, they're NOT washing their food! LOL
Hi Audrey,
I've read that particular explanation, too, and while I believed it at 1st, I am doubtful now. I've watched them do a lot of eating w/o 'washing' or otherwise accessing water. they don't all 'wash' their food and certainly not on a regular basis. The kits and youngsters do considerably more 'washing' while the adults do little if any. I don't think I've ever seen Heidi do any 'washing', for instance, and she generally eats her entire meal before drinking any water, and sometimes she doesn't drink any water at all - or do any of the characteristic food washing. That's just one example, but I see it all of the time. Dennis can eat an entire bag of cookies, well, at least 1/2 bag w/o touching any water.
I really think they just enjoy the tactile sensation of feeling around for things in the water. From all of my observations, that is that one explanation fits better than anything else I've read or heard. It really rings true. They like to feel things with their little hands period, even if not in water, but they seem especially drawn to anything that is in water. When I watch them it is clear that they just enjoy feeling around on the bottom of the pool. They will do that for a long time even if their is NO food in the pool. They will just feel around on the bottom in search of something, anything. They also love to take their toys into the pool to play with them. It doesn't matter if you give them pool toys or plush toys or toys with electronic movement and sound, in the pool it goes 1st thing, and they will play with it endlessly in the water.
When I 1st got the cat litter box, filled it with water, and put it out there, they spent a lot of time just feeling around on the bottom of the pan under the water in the 'wipe on', 'wipe off' form popularized by the Karate Kid. They already had the pool but for a while were obsessed with the little litter box of water, esp with feeling around on the bottom of it. That's when I realized that the pan was made of a different kind of plastic from that used in the pool, so it felt very different to their very sensitive paws, and that's why they were so driven to spend time feeling around in the small pan of water.
I think the reason the youngsters do a lot more 'washing' than the adults is that the older ones have already explored everything, or nearly so, whereas everything is new to the kits, and the latter want to feel everything.
Another thing that doesn't 'jive' with the idea of them not having saliva is the fact that they seem to prefer so many dry foods. For instance, while they love dry pet food, they will walk right past the [wet] canned foods. I've even bought them those tiny, expensive cans of very special cat and dog food only to watch them turn their noses up and walk away. If they really didn't have any saliva or ability to make saliva, it seems like they would gravitate to the wet food vs the dry. Moreover, it would seem very painful if not impossible for Heidi and the others to sit and eat a cup or two of dry dog or cat food w/o a drink of water. I could be wrong here, but the saliva thing just doesn't seem right to me. (But we appreciate you sharing it with us. More info is always better.)
Maybe they're just like kids, in that they like to play in the water, lol. They sure have been making a muddy mess out of our water dish!
