Raccoon, (Procyon lotor) Photo Courtesy of loomcom.com
It was the wee hours, yet I was awake. I glanced at the glass doors to the deck .. did I see eyes? Yes, I spied two yellow eyes. And.. there was a face attached. I could make out a face with a mask! The face moved away quickly as I slid open the door. Raccoon! A raccoon was after the big bag of dog food. Ah hah! Then, to my surprise, another face appeared: there was a second Raccoon INSIDE the dog food bag! He was busily eating his meal while his friend stood guard! Note to Self: Do not leave dog food outside. Raccoons have fingers and can open bags.. silly daytime human…
We have many nocturnal animals living in Topanga Canyon, California. Besides Raccoons, there are Bats, Moths, Owls, Skunks, Rats and Coyotes. Sometimes I even get a visit from an Opossum. In the summer time, evenings in the Canyon are made magical with the sounds of frogs and crickets. Most nocturnal animals go about their lives without being seen by me or anyone. At nighttime, the world is theirs. The stars come out. The moon casts its light across my garden. The bushes are dark, but out of the bushes scramble critters.
While my eyes are closed, nocturnal animals are living in my garden, going about their ‘every night’ chores. They don’t need me to help them or to even notice them. In fact, I am certain they are more than happy if I stay away. What are they doing when I’m not watching? Owl knows. He watches over everything. If he would just talk to me, the stories I would hear!
Audio: Western Screech Owl from NatureSound.com
Raccoons (Procyon lotor) (Procyonids) have been around for a very long time, millions of years in fact. They made an appearance in Indian folklore in both South America & North America. Each tribe would have their own word for “raccoon”. Most the names were derived from the raccoon’s characteristic mask or their unusual hands. I like this one by the Dakota-Sioux: weekah tegalega, magic one with painted face.
Raccoon has fingers that make it possible for them to do many things, like open latches and doorknobs. They help also with going down trees. The fingers are long and well separated, almost like monkey fingers.
Raccoon Hiding in Tree Hollow, Photo courtesy of loomcom.com
Raccoons sleep in tree hollows during the day, though I can say in all of my wanderings in the state parks, I have never seen a sleeping raccoon. And, I look up in trees a lot. Raccoons climb trees when they sense danger, so they prefer to live in wooded areas. They also have dens which they don’t make themselves but usually steal from skunks or foxes.
While it is true Raccoons will eat anything: birds, eggs, mice, insects, vegetables (except tomatoes – too acidic), fruit, and dog/cat food, they have a preference for sweet corn. Because of this, some folks see them as a menace. However, one benefit of having Raccoons in your garden is they help cut down on the rodent population.
Raccoons are also good fishermen. One neat trick, that used to intrigue the Indians, is the way they catch crayfish. Raccoon will sit next to a stream, with his tail dangling in the water. The crayfish think the tail is an excellent place to settle in. When Raccoon lifts up his tail, voila he flips up a fresh catch of crayfish!
Some people leave cat/dog food out to attract Raccoons, so they can enjoy watching their clever antics. Other people want to have them removed from their property and regard them as a menace. What a conflicted status for these nocturnal animals, that were here for so long before us. The raccoon has been trapped for their fur, and has been eaten for dinner. They only live 1-3 years in the wild. Surely we can make room for them.
~Wearing a mask does not a bandit make~
Also enjoy: Rescue of Ron the Raccoon in Topanga Canyon at Nature of Wildworks.org
© 2012, Kathy Vilim. All rights reserved. This article is the property of BeautifulWildlifeGarden.com If you are reading this at another site, please report that to us
About Kathy Vilim
They are adorable! When I lived in NY the house next to me was abandoned. Raccoons moved into the attic. When it was bought by speculators they brought in a team of workers to do repairs. These guys would seal up the hole in the soffit and the raccoons would break out every night (often with me cheering, GO ROCKY
). This back and forth went on for many days. One day I saw the chief speculator pointing and telling the construction guys to “seal that hole”. I suggested that he could seal it a thousand times and a thousand and one times it would see the light of day again. Two days later he hired a trapper.
Great article Kathy….and store that dog food…the dogs tell me they don’t like to share!
Loret recently posted..Wildlife Charity Contributions -–Act Local
Thanks for sharing your Florida Raccoon story. I can’t believe they would seal the raccoond “in”. I’d be cheering for them, too. They like attics because they like to be warm & safe (who doesn’t) and up high away from danger. Their hands make them able to get into lots of trouble. Hope they ended up back in a forest..
Kathy this was so wonderful. This fabulous critter is not usually in my area. At least we have not seen them. I think they have too much natural habitat across the street in the woods and lake. I would love for them to control the rodents in my garden (look out voles). I have many of the other night creatures. I wish I had night vision and the stealth of these creatures to watch them. How cute were those babies. The main predator for racoons here are cars. I see too many raccoons dead on the side of the road. The worst is seeing the whole raccoon family killed and laying on the side of the road…so sad…I have no pets so perhaps there isn’t anything they want. I do net my veg garden to keep out the critters…the food is for me and I provide lots of food for them. Maybe someday we will see a raccoon…we have seen just about everything else that lives in this neck of the woods…
Thanks, Donna. I wish I had night vision, too! I’d love to take photos of all the night critters in my wildlife garden. Hope you get a visit from Raccoon at your place soon.
Nothing quite like that here, but there are painted dogs in the nature reserves. Cape hunting dogs, each with its own unique pattern of spots and blotches.
Interesting that you don’t have raccoons. I’d like to see what the Cape hunting dogs look like.
I once went camping with a friend who had bought a “raccoon-proof” cooler.
The yelling of angry raccoons squabbling in the night woke us all up. I opened the tent in time to see a raccoon walk up to the cooler, spin the dial like a safecracker, and pop the thing open. The ranger who drove up gave us SUCH a look, and told us to put the food in the car…(the “you idiots” was not spoken, but very strongly implied.)
UrsulaV recently posted..Get Off Their Lawn!
Thanks Ursula for that funny story. Raccoon’s fingers can get them in such trouble, being so dexterous. Plus they are awfully smart~
I have never seen a raccoon but have experienced their thievery. I am surprised the coyotes in the canyon here don’t kill most of them. I have never even heard their voices. Thanks for this charming article, Kathy.
I haven’t seen that many raccoons either. I think they prefer it down by the creek. Thanks for coming by
In Kew Gardens where we live we see raccoons regularly. At times whole family passes by and feed on the cat food that the locals put out for the alley cats.
I think they are very charming and I enjoy the connection to our planet that we all share, others are frightened and suspicious. Thank you for the education.
Thanks so much for your update on raccoons in Kew. So glad they are getting along okay with the alley cats. I hope there are woods nearby for them to stay safe during their daytime slumber.