Lessons in becoming a grown up racoon

French fry and one of the tater tots, our name for this potato loving

racoon. (A neighbor feeds her spuds. This is wrong. But the name

stuck! It is not appropriate to feed wildlife under any circumstance!)

I saw this image, looked first at teh lens detail, and immediately wondered, "how'd he get so close?!"

 

Potatoes. Ah:)

 

Well, it's all fun and games until someone gets their hand ripped off.

 

Great image, though - cute alert!

For the last few months, French Fry (the female adult on the right of the image) has been coming up on my deck every day without her kids. She has been very curious, coming right up to me cautiously and even giving me a high five! By herself she wasn't threatened. When she came over with the three Tater Tots, she was growling and I kept my distance even though she approached within 6 feet with the kids. She retreated quickly at the sound of the shutter but returned for a closer look. I plan to be very cautious myself and will never feed them. But they sure are cute.

David, for certain be wary. They're cute as hell, but their teeth are sharp. I used to encounter a big one once in a while in the alley of my apartment building when living in Milwaukee. We'd have staring contests from 6 paces. I first I thought it was fun, then realized, "Wait a sec - he's really not afarid of me. That's bad."

 

I think the odds are about 300:1 that captured raccoons will make a good pet. They're just too wild - they're nowhere near domesticated. Rabies aren't as much a concern as roundworm, and too distemper.

 

If I were you, I too would be playing high-five with her - I'm just too much a lover of the things. But the fact is, if she gets it in her to give you a bite, chances are that Animal Control is going to ask you where they can find her, capture her, cut her head off, and send it to a lab to see if you're going to get sick. . .reason enough to think a friendship through!

 

Meanwhile, post some more photos - these are great:)

David, Are you sure your not a choreographer? They look like they are doing syncronized dance steps. Great catch - congrats!

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