Backyard Wildlife!

[user 78]

So, I was out back smoking when I heard something and saw my neighbor's tree moving. At first I thought it was our neighborhood hawk and got all excited to show everyone on here. I tried to pick out where exactly it was, only to find out it wasn't the hawk, but a raccoon! I haven't seen one around here in ages! They're sooo adorable! He [most definitely a boy] was stretched out over a very thin branch, just lounging and picking berries off the limbs. Just as pretty as you please!

Please pardon my utterly craptastic camera. I really need to get a new one, something that actually takes a decent shot.

 

[Jennw]

I love racoons! Do you live near a greenspace? Or was he really far from home?

We live right in the city, but close to a greenspace, and we back on to a house that's not really lived in (the father died, the sons come take care of the place and stay but no one lives there full time). They have fruit trees in the back yard, so the local wildlife has this nice big feeding ground. They tend to investigate our property as well. There are LOTS of small rodents, like mice/voles/moles/squirrels and chippies, but we also have rabbits, racoons, roof rats, and last year we had this big guy:

I normally don't have anything against wildlife, I'm a 'live and let live' kinda girl, but he attacked my neighbour's boxer one night. We have to be SUPER careful every night when we let our dog out to check for the coons and the opossum, both for the dog's safety, and for theirs!

 

[Godmother]

I have a soft spot in my heart for raccoons, even though they can be a pain in the city. I've never seen a possum, wow! He's a cutie. But with pets you sure would have to be careful.

 

[user 78]

I wouldn't exactly call it green space. I live 10minutes from Downtown, but in a suburban area, so there are lawns and trees, and alot of people have added ponds and/or water features. Lots of places for all kinds of wildlife to find attractive. Not to mention the yummy garbage everyone leaves out.

We have opossums everywhere, and we used to have a rabbit that lived somewhere in our yard a few years back. Since then either someone has allowed their cats to remain outdoors or we have a small feral population starting. I think that's what happened to the rabbits. There were a couple of foxes in a much more populated/busy area a couple of years back.. and a couple of coyotes in about the same area a few years before that. We have bats that live nearby, mostly fruit but some other varieties, too. There's the hawks, some other not-so-often-seen birds, and the pelican that came by to terrorize my dogs for a couple of weeks. He was neat. My neighbor refuses to use any sort of common sense with her "garden", so we have a fairly constant rat/mouse problem. Raccoons are sort of rare, though.

 

[Keltera]

i had these little girls for two nights, they have nmow already been rehabilitaed and set out into the wilderness, i miss my babies though.. they were SO LOUD

 

[user 78]

*squeals* I just lubs them! They are so preciously darling! I don't even know why I find raccoons in specific so fascinating. It like baby rats. You turn to mush and start making with the baby talk. It's insane! They're just too darn cute!

 

[Vanessa]

I would have to say that skunks are my favourite, they have the most adorable little faces! I think possums are absolutely awesome, though. I wish I had a couple of those around.
I have been approached pretty closely by a couple of skunks while I am out at night, and they are really very sweet. As long as I don't act like a predator, and don't try to approach them, they leave me alone and go about their business eating nightime buggies.

 

[Godmother]

When I see baby raccoons I melt all over the floor! No wonder you miss them, Keltera.

 

[user 78]

Skunks are most definitely adorable, Vanessa. I've never gotten to see one up close and personal, though. There's a game ranch [free range animals] not too far from here, and they have one there, but she's always in her burrow when I make it up there.

 

[Keltera]

ive seen many raccoons across the street form my apartment too i love raccoons there so mischievous

 

[user 78]

The little guy came back last night! :happydance:

He's not so little, though. He's huge! Much larger than either of my cats. He was doing more of the same, stripping smaller branches of their leaves high up. At one point he was sitting in a terrifyingly thin branch, holding a branch a good 2ft up and 1ft back, and leaning aaaall the way back while he nibbled away. I about had a heart attack waiting to see if he would would fall.

The household consensus is that he's pillaging my neighbor's "garden" at night. I've heard her complaining about rats taking fresh scraps from her compost, and something going at some of her other vegetables. me thinks it's not been just a rat lately. She's notorious for letting vegetables sit a bit too long, her compost pile is basically a mound tossed into the backyard, and she's grown corn for the past few years. Lots of stuff a raccoon would find tasty.

I'm just hoping he leaves our wee crop of tomatoes and cucumbers alone. Not so much that I mind sharing, as we've got two dogs who like to try and go after wildlife. They've never tried to take on anything as big as a raccoon, and the opossums are smart enough to get outta Dodge when they hear the dogs coming. He's got a smörgåsbord next door, though, so I don't think he'll feel a need to stop by.

 

[Jennw]

and the opossums are smart enough to get outta Dodge when they hear the dogs coming. .....

We always thought so, too. But ours stood his ground when the neighbour's boxer wandered over to it, and then attacked him. $600 later, she came home with stitches up the inner side of both front legs, her face, and a chunk out of her head.

And I just remembered I have a bunch of photos of an orphaned raccoon. The whole set is here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jennw/sets ... 180803465/

 

[user 78]

Noes!!! Not the baby pictures!!! *melts*


The ones around here tend to be fairly skittish and don't linger in the yards. I don't know if it's that we've always had dogs and they just know not to come through too often or what. Our dogs aren't the type to wander over to anything, either. They're all noise coming out the door. I've never tested this theory since, as I said, they just pass through our yard for the most part. I would never let the dogs out if one was sitting on the patio or something, but I see them pop out of the bushes and hightail it over the fence sometimes.

 

[user 78]

Omg! Jenn! How did you resist kissing that belly?!

 

[Jennw]

Omg! Jenn! How did you resist kissing that belly?!

I DIDN'T !! The poor thing must not have known what hit him!! I smooched him to pieces! And he loved it. He would actually come RUNNING when you called his name. He's bury his face in your neck, and talk and squeak and hold your hand with his teeny fingers.

sigh. He was SO cute.

 

[user 78]

Ohhh! See, this is why I can't volunteer for things like that. I fall for them, hard. I'd never let them leave.