I’m a Grandpa!

[anotherbob]

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Ok not really but I’m certainly not the father, ya freaks. As some of you know i feed quite a few different critters daily behind my place, ducks, birds, squirrels, possums, and about 8 raccoons, well seems that’s up to 11 (but it goes to 11) last night one of the regulars brought her youngins for the very first time. She is not large at all so hard to gauge size in the video but they are definitely little guys.

https://imgur.io/jKNPXNm?r

they are so cute. I won't admit to it but I might have made a little noise when I watched that. My two favortie raccoon experiences go like this.
Hear late at night what sounds like a man walking around on my porch. Pull open the curtain to see a very surprised raccoon who then runs across the street and knocks over the metal scaffold at the neighbors house. Yes it was so loud.
The other walking home see a trash can on it's side and hear something scrapping around in it. I make some noise a raccoon runs out stops looks at me kind of moves it's head and looks thoughtful. I swear it shrugged and went right back into the trash can. The fact it knew I wouldn't care is so awesome for a wild animal.

 

[AJL67]

They actually make great pets, they are very friendly and "cuddly" animals, the biggest problem is they will eat 24 / 7 if you feed them that much so they end up being huge waddling things lol, but they are still cute, especially the babies.

 

[AJL67]

Oh they grow up so fast!

 

[alaskanpiper]

the biggest problem is they will eat 24 / 7 if you feed them that much so they end up being huge waddling things lol, but they are still cute, especially the babies.

Same with human kids.

Good news is, we don't have raccoons in Alaska. Bad news is we get black bears in our trash cans instead

 

[AJL67]

The family pretty much went their own ways i think two of the siblings still live together and one of the females seems to have given birth as she’s in nursing mode, been putting out fresh water for her every morning as that’s when she comes to eat, assuming while the pups are sleeping.

It’s getting crazy here, now the egrets have started coming, first 2 now about 5 and they eat the cat food too, went from 3 mallards to 5 and from 2 Black-breasted Whistling Ducks to 5 of those, a couple crows, a dozen scrub blue jays, tons of black birds, woodpeckers, unlimited squirrels and 3 large possum including a baby about the size of a field mouse i saw last night. It’s definitely a zoo, but the neighbors don’t mind and enjoy it.

Last i saw the family they were all bigger than their mom as you can see the difference in pics.

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

Cool.


I love the way the cats don't know what to do.

"say something, bro. He's eating our dinner"
"you say something!"

The way he runs off at the end with a handful of kibbles is priceless

 

[AJL67]

Cool.


I love the way the cats don't know what to do.

"say something, bro. He's eating our dinner"
"you say something!"

The way he runs off at the end with a handful of kibbles is priceless

Growing up the raccoons would come right in and eat the cat food while the cats just watched

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

Growing up the raccoons would come right in and eat the cat food while the cats just watched

Hahahaha!

 

[georged]

My wife and I had a raccoon try to set up shop in our attic years ago in Ohio.

Popped it between the eyes with a High Standard .22

The most memorable part was the critter's fur. Never touched one before then, and it was like a high grade badger bristle shaving brush all over. A weird combination of structure and plush at the same time. Why they once made coats out of them finally made sense.

 

[AJL67]

My wife and I had a raccoon try to set up shop in our attic years ago in Ohio.

Popped it between the eyes with a High Standard .22

The most memorable part was the critter's fur. Never touched one before then, and it was like a high grade badger bristle shaving brush all over. A weird combination of structure and plush at the same time. Why they once made coats out of them finally made sense.

Congrats you are an amazing hunter, I'm sure you'll end up in Valhalla!

 

[newbroom]

I've spent way too much of my time watching this guy, The Racoon Whisperer, James Blackwood, of Churchill Nova Scotia.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Don't let them near firearms and you'll be fine.

 

[AJL67]

I've spent way too much of my time watching this guy, The Racoon Whisperer, James Blackwood, of Churchill Nova Scotia.

Reminds me of this ..

 

[augiebd]

@AJL67 Congratulations the family is really growing and seems to be a wonderful group!

 

[JRW11b]

Oohh, the raccoon, aka the Trash Panda.

 

[mso489]

People usually assess non-human animals as kind of dumb, or at least infinitely behind people in mental processes. I think the more closely they are observed, the more intricate their thought processes are revealed to be. They live in their own species' world, of course, so they fail a lot of tests conceived by people, but on their own terms, they can be ingenious, inventive, calculating, and complex. Even at their worst from a human perspective, they are far less destructive than homo sapiens. Left in nature, they don't seem to impact the environment or climate that much. Their predation can be vast, but compared to people, they are not big on carnage, take what they need, and ignore the rest. They are in that sense better designed for life on earth, and to sustain life on earth. The animal food chain is bloody but also thrifty. Animals don't kill off their food supply.

In terms of communication, though lacking speech as such, and without literacy, their vocabularies of vocalization and body language can be elaborate and highly expressive, as with bird song, the elaborate signaling in the positioning of ears, tails, and postures, and so on. Science is gradually finally unfolding the world of animal intellect, and there is plenty to discover and uncover.

 

[AJL67]

Family outing! I thought there was 3, my neighbor said 4, we were both wrong! The latest little ones.

https://imgur.com/a/lfmRqxB