Strange Noises and Masked Bandits

[toner87]

Caught outside my building last night... I heard some noises I hadn't heard in this neighborhood before and after investigating with my flashlight took some flash pics with the digital... This was taken from directly above in the dark. Very cute little critters and I don't know what trouble they were up to...
Cliff AKA Toner

[arkline]

They look pretty young. Sneeky bastidges like that eat all our cherries before we get to them each year. They don't even care if the cherries are close to ripe. When they get big and fat they terrorize the neighborhood cats and dogs, small children and the odd postal worker...

[darthrider]

Very cute & fun to watch, but...
Do not, repeat DO NOT let them take up residence in or near your house! They love attics. They are like monkeys...a lot of fun but a real PITA to live with.
I think they can be a canine rabies carrier but not sure of that.
They are very clean & fastidious. They always wash thier food before eating it. Give them some bread or ice cubes sometime and the show begins!

[DJ Downunder]

Great pic...all I get around my house is possums....they can be very sneaky too.

DJ

[arkline]

Australia is marsupial heaven, right? We've got possum too! My neighbors wife, who is getting a little dotty, thinks they are big rats...Not nearly so cute and cuddly looking as raccoon. But they both have nasty dispositions when cornered.

[garylspolar]

I pulled baby racoons out of a fireplace in these parts about two years ago, and chased the mother out with a brush. Chimneys were then capped, and all was well. Until the next morning...

Only once in my entire career as a sweep, has this strange thing happened. There was another mother racoon in the downstairs fireplace, living with her babies. The next morning, the homeowner awoke to find footprints coming from the fireplace to a candy dish. All the candies were opened and eaten, nothing but wrappers left as evidence. The footprints continued to the toilet. No more footprints. It had washed itself clean after feasting on 15-20 caramel candies. It surely returned to the chimney after bathing.

The 75 year old woman that lived here was quite a drinker, and fun to listen to. She was not the least bit upset with me, but asked me to return to get evict the second family. I chased the mother out, and took the babies outside. After removing all the young ones, I lit a small piece of newspaper for some smoke, to make sure the racoons were all out. I then heard a cough, looked into the flue, and a flaming baby racoon jumped out of the damper to fall just inches from my face. I then realized the pup wasn't on fire at all, but the tips of it's back fur were slightly burnt and it was still smoking. I was so happy to see that it was unharmed, but then spent the better part of 5 minutes chasing a smoking racoon around the family room. 3 laps later I caught the rascal, and took him outside. I'm so glad this didn't make America'a Funniest Home Videos.

[toner87]

Great stories, Gary! I got some good visuals thinking of you chasing a singed raccoon.
Cliff AKA Toner

[darthrider]

Gary, that is just funny as hell!
Too bad it *wasn't* taped...I'b buy 6 copies for presents!

[kbc68]

They look very young !

Mother must be nearby scrounging for snacks !

Nice capture with the digital!

[toner87]

I could have had a much better picture because when I opened the window to look down at these guys with my flashlight, they suddenly took a big interest in me and both climbed a wooden fence to get a closer look at me. This brought them nearly to my eye level and only 6' feet away. However, in the dark I just couldn't get the flash to fire and now know I should have switched to manual focus and guessed the distance on the lens. So, I missed that chance and got them when they came back. You live and learn...
T.

[darthrider]

Dont worry, T...they'll be back!

[geechie]

In this neck of the woods, they are indeed carriers of rabies, as are (sadly) foxes. On the barrier islands, 'coons are serious sea turtle nest predators. On the sea islands like Johns Island, where I live, they are serious bird feeder predators. Major PITA is right. I have to bring in all the bird feeders every night and put 'em out again in the morning.

Cute critters my a$$.

Then again, I'm glad the baby 'coon in the chimney wasn't hurt.

Life is so confusing sometimes.

George

[darthrider]

Mmmm...roast Coon! Yummie.

[jamming]

Hey Dave..know the difference between a Southern zoo and one in the North?
The zoo in the south puts a recipe by the critters.
Roger

[darthrider]

The zoo in the south puts a recipe by the critters.

DOH!
And in the North they just eat 'em raw?

[chibbert1]

Gary - hehe nice story.

Toner - they sure are cute but man can they be a pain. My parents have them living in the roof of their house and can't seem to get rid of them. THey once had a flat roof (which leaked) and they replaced it with a gabled roof which is now basically sitting on top of the flat roof so it makes a wonderful safe place for those cute bastards.

[socalrob]

Yeh, I hate those raccoons that once a year or so seem to tear a hole in the wood shingle roof of a rental house I have. There's a hole now I have to go repair.

About 10 years ago I was drafting a map at about 3 am in an office behind my garage. There was a big window with a large bush just outside. I look up from the computer & see a "bandit" right at about 6 ft. high in the bush staring me in the face (about 3 ft from me on the other side of the glass) & for a few seconds just scared the livin wits out of me as I was sure there was a strange man out there looking in. Definately woke me up.

[darthrider]

Yes, the little bastidges are notorious Peeping Toms...

[geechie]

Re the recipe deal:

Problem with 'coons is you've got to hang 'em up to cure too long. Now a 'possum, on the other hand is tender right off the bat.

Hit don't git much better 'n 'possum baked with sweet 'taters. Y'all.

George