A raccoon call came in this morning with the usual hysteria: It's out during the day so it must have rabies. *sigh* We go through this every year. So please, help me set the record straight.
Raccoons are not vampires exiled to night. Just because they're out in the daylight does not mean they have rabies!!
My city is a self-proclaimed "tree sanctuary." As such, it's filled with wildlife. (You'd think people wouldn't be so freakin' weird about raccoons, opossums, foxes, armadillos and owls. You'd be wrong! And we won't mention snakes, alligators, bobcats and rats, OK?) Honestly, it's not uncommon to see adolescent raccoons exploring the daytime hours. It's even more common to see raccoons during the day in urban environments. Why? Because we have screwed them up. Raccoons have learned that if they stay up just a little bit later humans will roll out giant bins full of garbage. Why scavenge when you can have a free meal delivered to you? Also, raccoons love cat food, and we have a crazy cat lady on every block! I have seen obese raccoons push feral cats out of the way to gobble up a giant bowl of Meow Mix.
This little guy was chasing lizards at a local church, minding his own business. Unfortunately, several ignorant humans freaked out and called 9-1-1. Yes, 9-1-1. For his own protection, I relocated the little fella to a nature preserve three blocks away. He's cute, but I used a catch pole nonetheless. (I'm not stupid, they are wild animals with sharp, pointy teeth.) He was in a playful mood and wouldn't let go of my pole. He kept biting the cable and grabbing the pole with his little raccoon fingers. It took five minutes for me to wrestle my pole from the raccoon. I didn't think anyone would believe me so I snapped this picture with my phone.
It's Awww...Monday. And if this didn't make you saw "Awww" then your heart is obviously three sizes too small! Click around below and see what other awww-worthy things people are sharing today. A big thank you goes out to Sandee over a Comedy Plus for hosting this hop every week. Catch you later, -- K
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