Not quite so cuddly as you'd think

[theletch1]

Heard about this on the radio at 3 this morning. As terrible as the details of the story are I still couldn't help but get a chuckle out of the reference to these critters as "urban" in the context that it was used. http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=2342208&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

 

[John Brewer]

People don't realize how strong these things are and you may call them urban but they are wild animals. Thanks for the post!

 

[Flying Crane]

I'm not surprised. They can get big, they are strong, and they can be mean as hell. And the ones that live in and around cities and people are not afraid of anyone. And most dogs, even a big one, would not stand up well against a full grown raccoon.

I had a friend who grew up on a farm. She had a dog, an Australian Blue Heeler, or Shepherd, or something, some type of working, farm dog. Her dad watched the dog chase a raccoon down the hill into a small stream that flowed thru their property. ONce in the water, the raccoon turned and attacked the dog, and sat on his head and held him underwater and tried to drown him. If her dad hadn't chased the raccoon away, the dog would have been drowned. Raccoons can be scary smart.

 

[SFC JeffJ]

When I was an animal control officer, we responded to stuff like this all the time. Been chased by a few of em as well.

There is a serious overpopulation of racoons since hardly anyone hunts/traps them for their fur anymore. Coonskin caps should come back in style.

You first theletch1. I bet it'd make ya look cute.

Jeff

 

[King]

I've never seen coons as cuddly. The first time I encountered one I tried to shoo it away from rummaging through the garbage. The vicious thing turned to look at me, stood on it's hind legs and hissed back. From then on I called them bears. Now baby dwarf bunnies, those are cuddly.

 

[Flying Crane]

yeah, coons are only cute if they are younger than about 8 weeks.

I was in a Golden Gate Park here in San Francisco a few years ago. I witnessed a family of German tourists wandering around the Arboretum, with their small toddler child. A mother raccoon and baby was poking around the bushes, and these tourists were watching them. The toddler wandered over to the baby, and was standing about 5 feet away, laughing and pointing at the baby. The adults were standing there, watching the whole thing and thinking it was pretty cute. Nothing bad happened, but I was shouting at them to get their kid away from the raccoon. If that mother raccoon had thought her baby was in trouble, she would have killed that kid in an instant, and those people had absolutely no idea. they just thought it was cute. They paid me no attention, I think they didnt' understand English.

 

[BrandiJo]

ick...cute and cuddly my butt.

 

[crushing]

Just a year or so ago some parents thought it would be cute to have one as a pet. The 'pet' got into their babies room while they were sleeping and, well here's an update to the story:

http://www.wzzm13.com/news/lakeshore_article.aspx?storyid=59300

 

[Jonathan Randall]

I was woken up at three in the morning by a vicious altercation between the then neighbor's cat and a raccoon outside my doorstep. The neighbors, who later abandoned the cat whom I then adopted, would leave large amounts of dry cat food out for their four cats which they ingnored after they were no longer cute and kitteny. The raccoon had the cat by its hind legs and the cat was on the ground biting at the raccoon's collar. It was a large male with one leg missing. I so surprised them both when I banged my door open and charged with a bit stick that they both took off - in opposite directions and the cat was missing for nearly a week so I was pretty sure he had died. That particular raccoon was a cat killer and I suspect that the neighbors in the house across the creek from me (I live in a semi-rural area) eventually "took care" of the raccoon. They lost two cats and some roosters themselves, IIRC.

The other day, I ran into a family of them near where my car was parked. Because there are children who play in the same area, I keep a rifle at the ready and will not hesitate to kill one whose threatening a child (of course being damn sure I have a clear line of fire).

 

[shesulsa]

At camp last year, we had a pack of raccoons charging at adults wielding brooms and pepper spray. Hmmm ... thoughts of inbreeding are dashing across my mind ....

 

[MA-Caver]

Well if the folks would take a closer look they'll see the reason that the coons are getting so bad-assed is because of that evil DEVIL'S ROCK MUSIC!!
Like this fella right here!

 

[shesulsa]

Oh, that's just Kreth's pet coon.

 

[MA-Caver]

Well yeah but he's been letting it out at night and NOW look what happened?

 

[John Brewer]

About 15 years ago I was stupid enough to live snare a racoon. It took me about 45 minutes to get it out of the office building it had been discovered in. This was my first time doing this and I almost got fired for it. Instead I got my wife out of it. Go figure!

 

[Jonathan Randall]

"Local Cats form Militia and Fight Back"

According to sources, a local group of cats in North Sacramento and Rio Linda California have formed a milita to fight back against predatory coons:

View attachment 6719

Photo by staff photographer Lima Peruz. Jonathan Randall's cat Pete, who was the victim of a vicious Raccoon fight leads a charge against suspected Raccoon terrorist camps.

 

[theletch1]

When I was an animal control officer, we responded to stuff like this all the time. Been chased by a few of em as well.

There is a serious overpopulation of racoons since hardly anyone hunts/traps them for their fur anymore. Coonskin caps should come back in style.

You first theletch1. I bet it'd make ya look cute.

Jeff

Dude, I have a set of ears that'd make Prince Charles blush. I just don't think coon skin caps are gonna work for me...maybe I can talk Erica into getting me some coon skin boxers.