I did a trap and release on a raccoon (pic added)

[Aerows]

Last edited Tue Mar 24, 2015, 09:29 PM - Edit history (2)

We all know the troubles I've had with them, but I don't despise them. This one was HUGE. She was being a nuisance due to the fact that she was about to drop about 5 kits.

I lured her into a trap with apple slices, and let her go in an area that was away from people.

If anyone had a reason to hate them, it would be me, but I don't work that way. Compassion is necessary for us to all get along on this spinning blue and green ball.

She weighed 35lbs. if she weighed anything.

[Gothmog]

1. Given your history with raccoons, this was a great step to take

[Aerows]

9. I do the best I can

I don't hate them, I just fear them and their destructive nature around civilization, so I took it out to the country where it could do its thing.

[Gothmog]

116. Relocation is the right way to go

[murielm99]

2. I would never spare one.

They are destructive and they kill kittens.

[Cleita]

6. And kittens grow up to kill birds, baby ones too.

You can't get upset with animals that are just following their nature.

[JohnnyRingo]

80. I understand what you're saying...

But until you hear the screams of a squirrel getting shredded alive you can't understand the nature of a raccoon. They howl like a baby as they get torn to pieces.

When I had to take my cat to a vet some years ago from a raccoon attack my vet told me that they don't eat cats. They see them as competition for food and attack out of malice. It especially happens when one feeds their cat outdoors.

I had a rare stray cat I was feeding last summer drop by one day completely scalped and limping badly. He healed eventually but disappeared suddenly. Though I know he lived where raccoons nested I made sure the murderers frequenting my yard didn't do it. I put up with the cries from the treetops for a while, but the attack on that poor cat was a final straw.

I refuse to hunt because killing anything haunts me to no end, but I'll never feel a pang for eliminating a coon living too close to civilization.

[Smarmie Doofus]

92. Cats kill squirrels too. And in much the same fashion.

It's pretty hideous to observe.

[JohnnyRingo]

118. I've never had a cat that could catch a squirrel.

They'd try a few times then spend their lives pretending they don't exist. Cats are cool like that.
Chipmunks are a different story, but they're just big rodents. Cats also normally eat what they kill.

No one can compare the viscous demeanor of a raccoon to any house cat I've seen.

[F4lconF16]

120. How much do cats kill?

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/cats_actually_kill

[Drahthaardogs]

124. No they don't. Cats kill out of sheer joy.

I keep homing pigeons. Let a hawk get in your coop, it kills a bird. Let a skunk or a coon get in there, they kill a bird. Let a cat get in your coop, and they kill until they cannot kill anymore. It is devastating. They are awful creatures when not kept indoors. I have no love for outdoor cats and consider them vermin of the worst kind.

[JohnnyRingo]

126. Yikes!

You know you're on DU, right?
Hahaha

[Aerows]

133. You have never lived in an area

that has wooded areas around it, and cats that grow up surviving in such an environment. Mine doesn't now, because she is mostly indoor, but I got pelts, and a foot more than once.

A damn foot. There is no mistaking a squirrel foot.

[Aerows]

10. I'm just not made that way.

I had a horrific experience with one, but we all have to grow.

[840high]

108. Thank you.

[Hekate]

37. Sure, that's why we don't leave our pets out overnight here in the interface zone

Raccoons and coyotes both will take an easy meal where they can get it.

[closeupready]

51. +1. Raccoons are vicious, and seem to enjoy killing other animals.

[Enthusiast]

128. Oh, if Racoons were big enough they would kill people.

Seriously.

This one time during deer gun season I saw a racoon that wasn't at all afraid of me. I was ready to blast it with a deer slug if it approached me. But it pretty much didn't pay me any mind.

It might have been rabid. But it appeared to be healthy.

[flvegan]

107. Thank goodness you are the cause of killing nothing. n/t

[Rex]

3. You're a good person Aerows. Dam that is a big raccoon!

Good on ya for facing your fears head on and winning!

[Aerows]

13. She was freaking huge

but not unprecedentedly so. I'd call her medium size compared to some of the ones I've seen, since she's pregnant.

[Rex]

14. Just be careful my friend.

Not that I really have to say those words, it is just habit for me to. You must have some real monsters around that area!

[Aerows]

19. I am

For some reason, they get freaking HUGE around here. I mean it looks like a pit bull coming for you, and they don't come alone. They bring the smaller members of the family and the parents. They aren't cute or adorable at the sizes they come in around here - they are dangerous.

I'm pretty sure that only a dog about yay German Shepherd size would scare them.

[MannyGoldstein]

101. My college fraternity had a dog who fought raccoons

He was a Lab/Shepard mix, close to 100 lbs of mostly-muscle. Sweetest dog in the world, never growled at or bit people, was cool with other dogs unless they attacked him (infrequently) and he never lost a fight. Didn't even go after squirrels. But for some reason he'd make a beeline for raccoons, and the fights were horriffic. They'd go on for minutes, the raccoons ferocious, flecks of saliva and blood over a wide area. Breaking them up was quite a challenge. He never finished one off that I recall, he maybe had a slight advantage despite being several times their weight.

[LiberalElite]

134. I saw a cat-sized one in Queens, NYC once. nt

[Warpy]

4. Wow, I'm seriously impressed

After what you went through with the rabies shots, this is nothing short of miraculous.

Around here, I can call animal control for problem animals and if I find carcases in the yard (we have to turn them in to be tested for hantavirus and plague). I suppose if I lived in the boonies, I'd need a shotgun to scare the bears away from the garbage cans and a trap for nuisance animals.

[Aerows]

12. I called animal control

and they were about as interested as if I had a mouse in the yard.

And yes, I'm familiar with a shotgun. Not for bears, but in case the wild hogs come around like they did after Katrina. Thankfully, I haven't seen them since the weeks after, but they are nothing to fool with.

[Warpy]

21. Uh, I'll keep the bears, thanks.

They're lazy buggers and if it looks like a meal is going to cost them something, they'll leave.

[Aerows]

22. I'd prefer bears, too

I'm trying to grow a garden again this year and ... yeah.

[Aerows]

67. We are in no need of bears

http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-sports/2014/01/wild_hog_population_exploding.html

We have our own problems since Katrina let a bunch of them loose.

[bvar22]

33. Once a bear finds a meal, he/she WILL come back.

We keep Bee Hives, and worry about bears finding them.
So far, we've had good luck,
but other bee keepers have had problems.

I asked a Fish & Game Officer (the only one I've seen in 7 years) what I should do if a bear attacks our hives,
and he said, "Kill it, bury it, don't keep anything from the bear,
and don't tell anyone....especially don't call me.
I checked with our local "constable" and he said the same.

Black Bears are currently way overpopulated in our area.

[Warpy]

49. Well, salvage the steaks, I understand they can be quite good

if the bear hasn't been getting fat on fish.

Around here, people give a warning shot first, then only shoot the bear if it's irritable enough to charge. Bears aren't in short supply but we do have a hunting season and taking them out of season is frowned on unless one is charging you.

And most of the time, they don't come back, not for garbage, not to face a shotgun.

[Aerows]

66. I wish the bears

would advise wild hogs on how not to behave amongst humans.

[Jenoch]

69. Out of curiosity,

where do you live? I live in Minnesota and we have a healthy bear population in northern Minnesota. There is also enough habitat for them. Several years ago the population was exploding so the DNR sold more tags and hunters reduced the population to a more manageable level of about 20,000.

[bvar22]

95. We live in far western/central Arkansas in the OUachita Mountains, just a few miles from Oklahoma.

We are surrounded by extensive National Forest (Ouachita National Forest) and protected wilderness areas.

Coincidentally, we used to live in Minnesota on a Houseboat in the Mississippi River.
Minnesota has a wonderful and well funded Fish and Game Dept (DNR). We saw Wardens all the time on the Mississippi, and they were really nice, and just a phone call away.

We have nothing like that in Arkansas.
If we call the Game Wardens in Arkansas about a problem bear, to report poaching, or anything else, we might see them in a month. They are completely overwhelmed, understaffed and underfunded.
Poaching is also a problem, but so few people live around here, and we live far enough from any towns that they haven't become a priority problem.
I can keep the poachers off of my property, but thats about all, and even that can be dangerous.

Hence, the conversation with the Game Warden who advised me (in confidence) to shoot a nuisance bear, bury it, and keep nothing from the bear. So far, no bears have found our Bee Hives yet, and I hope they don't, but some of my friends have had their hives overturned and destroyed by bears (or a bear).

Electric fences offer some promise. They are expensive and seem to be only partially effective, some BeeKeepers we know have had their electric fences destroyed by a bear who wanted the honey and walked straight through the electric fencing to get back to the honey in the hives. The electric fence seemed to just make him mad.

Many of us, ourselves included, depend on Honey sales to "make our year".

I do not relish the thought of shooting one of these magnificent creatures,
but if it threatens my stock or family, our bees, or our ability to pay bills and put food on the table... I will.

I also don't relish having to dig a hole big enough to bury a bear.
The ground here is very hard, and we use hand tools.


We DO have a Bear Season here, have to be licensed to hunt bears,
and have to have the proper tags and paperwork to keep anything from the bear.
I'm NOT a "Bear Hunter" (and never will be), but I do know the state offered a healthy increase in Bear Tags this year. In fact, we don't hunt anything at all (besides mushrooms) because we are not hungry enough,
but if we get hungry, we both have the skills and firepower to put meat on the table.

But THAT is a completely different issue from the protection of Family, Pets, Stock, and of course our Bees.

[Jenoch]

102. Many years ago we were

interested in buying some recreational/ hunting property in northern Minnesota. When we were driving up to the parcel we ended up buying, a bear ran across the road about 100 yards in front of us, not too far south of the driveway. It was the middle of the afternoon. All these years later, it's still the only bear we have seen. A couple of running wolves were seen from a deer stand a few yeaes ago.

[SoCalDem]

123. We once had a rampaging Newfoundland in our neigborhood (had to weigh 185+)

He attacked our poodle ON HER LEASH..and it ended up costing us hundreds of dollars to save her (and it nearly cost her an ear..poor baby)...

anyway. I saw him the next day and called animal control.. know what they told me?


capture him in your garage and we'll come & get him.. ..

he must have found his way home because we only saw him a few times after that..never did figure out where he lived so I could get them to pay the vet bills ..

[Aerows]

130. I had two 40+ lbs. raccoons

including three offspring charge my sliding glass door when I went to take out the trash.

That was a couple of years ago, and I am attempting to do more humane things than just shooting them or poisoning them and doing trap and release.

I was excoriated up thread because I did a trap and release, but the person doing the talking has no idea what the alternative is. I do, and I did the best I could. I did trap and release.

[herding cats]

5. Thanks for being kind to the wildlife!

It's not their fault we're an easy source of sustenance.

[Aerows]

17. It isn't. n/t

[cherokeeprogressive]

7. I always knew you were awesome n/t

[Aerows]

16. Thank you

I did it for both myself and the animal.

[Cleita]

8. Good for you. We do the same for raccoons and skunks too.

My SIL traps them and releases them in a wilderness that's awy from houses and ranches.

[Aerows]

11. We don't have skunks around here

so I'm not familiar with their habits or safe ways to trap and release them, but it's the kind thing to do.

How does she keep the skunks from spraying her?

[Cleita]

26. It's a he, my son in law.

After he traps it, he approaches the trap covering himself with a large canvas which he throws over the trap. Then he transports it in the back of his truck. He keeps the trap wrapped in the canvas until he sets it down and then he unlatches the door with a long hook. By that time the little beast is quiet and scared, but he leaves and goes back for the trap and canvas the next day. By that time Pepe le Pew is long gone. Of course the trap and canvas and the back of his truck get a strong soap scrubbing. There is some strong stuff he uses but I don't remember what it is. Fortunately, he doesn't have to relocate a skunk too often.

[newfie11]

15. We did a live trap to catch a coyote that had been killing our chickens

To our suprise we found a half grown coyote puppy.
Released him about 5 miles away in a reserve.
Pretty sure he beat us home

[Aerows]

20. I took it about 30 miles away

I think the bob tailed one, which is recognizable by the -bobbed tail- that I released last year came back. I didn't go far enough, and it's still around, sniffing my shoes and lurking. I know because of the distinctive tail.

I hope to get him again and put him out where I put out the pregnant mama.

[Travis_0004]

53. Relocating wildlife is generally a bad idea, and possibly illegal

[Aerows]

76. I could just kill them all

with fly bait rather than give them a chance, right?

It isn't your choice.

I made my choice to trap and rehome them.

You aren't the one impacted upon by the situation.

[uppityperson]

77. Because they may have babies in the spring that are then abandonded to die, they don't know where

food and water are unless there are other people around in which case you are simply dumping your problems on someone else?

It isn't an easy thing to do to an animal.

[Aerows]

86. I made a choice

to give a raccoon and its offspring a chance so that I didn't have to kill it. It was coming to that because she was highly aggressive and I'm not in the mood to undergo a rabies series again.

Maybe I'm sick in the head because I don't want to kill them all and let God sort it out.

[uppityperson]

88. I understand and have had raccoon problems also. I was going to trap and relocate until our fish

and wildlife person told me not to because of those reasons. It is a difficult situation without a simple or easy solution.

[Aerows]

94. What is a better solution?

I'd be happy to spearhead such an idea.

[uppityperson]

97. It depends on where you live, why they are hanging around.

Don't leave dog or cat food out. If neighbors feed them ("they are so cute&quot talk with them about the problems they are causing and see if they will agree to stop. Get fish and wildlife involved if they are feeding wild animals as many places that is illegal but often fish and wildlife people are too busy to help until you let them know the problems they are causing. And for you, having one attack you last year, you had to do the rabies shot thing, that should get some attention from them.

For us, they were getting into our chickens so I set out a trap and caught a young one, mama was nearby and 2 others in a tree. I hit the cage, yelled at the young one while mama growled at me, then shook a broom at her and yelled at her, telling her to leave, never come back "or else"! I didn't know if they understood english, but figure it couldn't hurt.

I let the young one out, it shot across our field with mama and up the tree with its siblings. We haven't had trouble from them since.

I did that once before in another place, caught and terrorized a raccoon before letting it go. A few days later it snowed and here were the tracks, walking across the yard, then doing a big detour around the scary chicken run.

Rats now, those suckers ate my broccoli and even worse, I finally managed to grow sweet corn but did I get to eat any? Noooooooooooooooooooo. All that was left was cobs on the stalks.

As I said, I wanted to relocate the raccoons, but a game person talked me out of doing so.

Best of luck to you and to them. They are doing what they do, which too often does not jibe with what humans want.

[Aerows]

112. Thank you

for this post.

[Aerows]

98. I have one of three options.

1. Ask my father, my cousin or my friend to shoot it until it is dead.

2. Ignore the problem and get mauled on the patio as has already happened.

3. Use a humane cage trap and send it somewhere else that it won't find me again.

[uppityperson]

100. Why are there raccoons in your area? Serious question. Are they there for food, are neighbors

feeding them?

[Aerows]

114. There is a wooded area very close to my home

pretty much right after my backyard. The neighbors next door abandoned their home 2 years ago, and left a stack of pallets, and a boat in their damn front yard, and a microwave oven in the back.

I didn't see raccoons before 2 years ago. I think they are probably infesting that home.

You can't see all of the crap in their front yard, thankfully because they have 6 foot tall azalea bushes.

[uppityperson]

103. I found interesting info on Mississippi and raccoons, companies that specialize in dealing with

critters.

There are a lot of companies that trap animals for people, including raccoons. I'd call some of them to see what they do as they are licensed to do it properly for the people and animals.

There are "nuisance" wildlife, but those don't include raccoons.
https://www.mdwfp.com/wildlife-hunting/nuisance-wildlife.aspx

Beaver, coyote, fox, nutria, skunks, and wild hogs are classified as "nuisance animals" and may be taken year-round on private lands, and open public lands that have statewide seasons without special regulations as allowed according to Title 40 Part 2, Chapter 7, Rule 7.1 (Nuisance Animals Regulations Rule).

Raccoons can be trapped in season, with a permit. It is not permitted outside this season, like now, because most likely they are breeding, have young.
https://www.mdwfp.com/wildlife-hunting/furbearer-trapping/trapping-regulations.aspx

Trapping Regulations
Trapping Season: Nov. 1 - March 15

(All furbearer and nuisance species)


Bag & Possession Limits: No daily or season limit

[villager]

104. Kind of pathetic and grimly hilarious that homo "sapiens" would call anything else a "nuisance"

...species.

[Aerows]

115. I wasn't killing, just packing its bags and moving it before all the babies came.

Legal Game
Raccoon, fox, opossum, beaver, and bobcats may be legally hunted at night, with or without the use of a light, and with dogs, except during the spring turkey season. For legal deer see "Hunting Deer" for legal sizes and bag limits.

https://www.mdwfp.com/law-enforcement/hunting-rules-regs.aspx

[uppityperson]

117. I hope it is somewhere it can find enough food and not bug other people.

Spring turkey season started March14

[Aerows]

119. I released it near some wetlands

The area should support her and her babies.

[Aerows]

110. She sat on the porch, in the trap

and there were about six hours before she was carted away to a better location.

[newfie11]

127. The other option here is the State Trapper

Yep in SD and NE ( don't know about other states) there is a state trapper. I assume more than one.
If you have problems they will come out and set traps.
Here in the Black Hills 10 years ago the traps set held meat. When the animal went to bite it there was a trigger. That released cyanide spray into the mouth of the animal.
any animal that eats meat was fair game. Coyotes were the cause but Bobcats, courgar , pet dogs, cats, even Eagles and Hawks.
I know this because I lived surrounded by the Black Hills National Forest at the time. A neighbor 10 miles away warned me to watch my dogs as he had the state trapper out.

[GoneFishin]

18. Nice job! Raccoons are people too.

[bvar22]

23. Starkraven & I have been living in the woods of the Arkansas Mountains for 10 years now.

We are adjacent to the extensive Ouachita National Forest & Wilderness.
We also keep free range chickens.

We have had problems with coons, skunks, possums, coyotes, and other critters who can smell a Free Dinner.

Coyotes who are trying to get at our chickens don't make it out alive,
but we live trap & relocate everything else, unless they are in the yard actively killing chickens.
Then they get the bullet.

Skunks are a little scary, even in the Live Trap. If he/she can get her tail up,
she can spray for a good distance. Most skunks can't raise their tail enough to spray while they are in the trap, but that is not a sure thing. We keep a couple of blankets and tarps in the chicken yard, and use them to protect ourselves while we approach the trap,
then throw the blanket over the trap. After that, relocation is easy.

If a coon gets in your hen house, he will kill every single chicken.
I've heard skunks will do the same.
So will your neighbor's dogs.

[Aerows]

25. Raccoons destroy your garden

try to destroy your home to get into it, carry rabies, and are extremely aggressive against your pets. And you.

They are *really* smart dogs with hands. They have fellae on their paws to the tune of 40,000 as opposed to that of a cat which is about 4,000 on their entire body. They are evolved to operate in the dark and use haptic senses in unique and creative ways. Once a raccoon uses its "hands" to open a lock, it never forgets how to do so.

They are destructive, dangerous, and remarkable.

[bvar22]

27. ---but the little ones are soo cute...

...with their little robber masks and all.
The temptation to keep a small one as a pet has brought grief to several of the locals out here.

BTW: Peanut Butter is the best bait for Coons or Possums.
They can't resist it.

[F4lconF16]

121. Neither can my cat.

She walked right in, got trapped, and promptly sat in the peanut butter and cried her heart out

[rhett o rick]

24. I have a raccoon story.

A few years ago my wife and I heard a horrible gnawing sound, like something was chewing it's way thru the house. I traced it to our deck which is low to the ground. I pulled up a board and found a mother raccoon and 4 new born babies. I gave her some hard cat food and put the board back. I was worried because we had two outside cats. I was afraid if the mother left the babies to get food, the cats might harm the babies. So in a few days I trapped the mother and carefully removed the babies and took them all to a wooded area. By the way the mother was missing part of a tail prompting the name of stubs. She had been hanging around for a while prior to this. The wooded area was about 2 miles away kitty-corner across an intersection of two fairly busy streets. You are probably ahead of me here, but two days later, my wife called me at work and said "Guess who's back". Stubs had returned with the babies across two busy roads and numerous fences. We decided to leave them be and enjoyed watching them go out on their evening adventures. The cats never bothered them. They left after about three weeks.

[Laffy Kat]

29. Mamma liked it at your house!

You're nice people!

I'm terrified of coons, but don't hate them or anything. Once, when I was living in an apartment, one parked itself right in front of my door, blocking me from leaving. S/he won. I changed my plans and stayed in that night!

[Mr.Bill]

28. Where I live (California)

it is actually illegal to relocate a wild animal. I have raccoons and skunks around here, they are a nuisance for my veggie garden and my small dogs. Animal control here won't do anything, either.

[central scrutinizer]

30. Slower death sentence

There are raccoons everywhere and have established territories. They will defend their territory against intruders so the one you released would have nowhere safe to go.

[bvar22]

34. Most of the wild life people around here say the same:

If you release a wild animal anywhere, it will not last long because that is already another animals territory.
I don't buy that entirely because the next generation seem to regularly find a territory of their own, and the wild life rescue people have no problem relocating injured animals who have been rehabilitated.

I'm going to continue to live trap and relocate whenever possible.
I can't kill an animal in a trap

[Aerows]

44. You and I are horrible people

for prolonging the supposed agony of relocating an animal that has become a danger to your area.

I'm just sitting here absorbing how horrible I am.

[840high]

109. Neither can I.

[Aerows]

43. Well I guess

I'm a shitheel for not killing it outright.

[uppityperson]

79. It is sad when the options are all bad, isn't it?

[jtuck004]

31. Thank you for what you did for the raccoon. And for starting a thread for raccoon stories.<G>

Before we escaped from Oklahoma, we would vacation in the mountains of New Mexico, sometimes staying in KOA camping cabins when it was too late or weathery to pitch a tent.

They had told us bears might be a problem. Even so, at dark 30 in the AM, when I heard a noise on the front porch, grabbed my glasses and stumbled up there, opened the curtain, and there was a HUGE bear head, just inches from me, it was a little disconcerting.

I stumbled back, woke my wife, and thought about just exactly what we should do, or not do. As I was collecting my thoughts, I realized I had grabbed her glasses, so I switched them for mine.

I kept hearing noises so I tiptoed over and peeked out the window again...at the two raccoons.

It's amazing how the wrong glasses can alter your perspective on things.

[Thor_MN]

32. I've relocated several rabbits, eating my garden to nubs.

Once the trap caught a raccoon. Most pissed off animal that I have ever seen. I didn't bother to relocate it, I just let it out with a long stick and it disappeared in a hurry. I think I annoyed it enough that it went elsewhere to live.

[bvar22]

35. How did you trap the rabbits?

What did you use for bait?

I've tried every year to live trap rabbits, but they seem to prefer my vegetable garden to anything I use for bait. I have never been able to live trap a rabbit or an armadillo.

[Aerows]

45. Apple slices worked for me

They attract anything that is omnivorous and herbivorous. That way you don't get a cat stuck in the trap, just the ones that like to eat vegetables along with their cat food.

[Thor_MN]

48. Live trap with salad type scraps

Carrots, lettuce, etc.

[bvar22]

55. I've tried those many times,

but the rabbits prefer to ravage the fresh ones growing in my garden.

[Thor_MN]

58. My local rabbits must be less discerning. or less smart.

but they breed like..., well, rabbits.

maybe it was that they had already eaten everything in sight.

[WheelWalker]

36. I released a Cooper's Hawk last week from my chicken coop...

Middle of the day, it ignored the hens in the yard and got into the roost side of the coop through the ground level open flap door, looking for my peepers (it had already nailed 4 out of 6 in previous raids before I moved the peepers into the hutch). Must have been very disappointed to find itself trapped inside with no one home - it was definitely angry. Before opening the coop door I gave it a stern talking to and told it try vegan this year.

[hunter]

38. Our dogs hate raccoons with a fiery passion.

The fence around our backyard was designed to keep the dogs in and the raccoons out for the protection of both.

[Hekate]

39. You're a nice person, Aerows.

Did you jingle your new rabies tags at'em? (Joke -- I know you had to get shots before . )

[Aerows]

47. My cat jingles hers

Last edited Tue Mar 24, 2015, 10:17 PM - Edit history (1)

She seems to think it is some sort of bling and struts around like she owns the place.

I suspect I'm in the clear for rabies for several years, but I'm not anxious to test the theory.

[TeeYiYi]

40. Good on ya, Aerows!...

Way to be the bigger person and take the first step toward friendship.



TYY

[heaven05]

41. excellent

all creatures, great and small

[BeatleBoot]

42. My Dad taught me to do this, too...as well as with Possums

Living in Detroit (okay a suburb 4 blocks north of 8 mile rd). We would take them out towards the golf coures north of us and release them.

[madokie]

46. Thank you

You are a good person, I commend you on your compassion for our fellow inhabitants

[Jackpine Radical]

50. Your story reminds me of the time two DNR trucks were parked outside

a restaurant in Wausau, in north-central WI. Each of them had a trailer with a culvert-style bear livetrap mounted on the trailer, and each livetrap had a live bear in it.

I knew a couple of the guys & joined them at the counter. Where you taking the bear?" I asked. One of them told me they had trapped the bear over on the east side of the state near Antigo & were transporting it with the plan of releasing it over on the west side of the state in the woods around Danbury.

Somebody from the firt truck then said, "Aw, shit." Turns out they had trapped their bear near Danbury and were planning to release it over near…(Yeah. You guessed it.)

[Yo_Mama]

56. Did they change plans??? Or did you guys just swap bears every few months?

This story seems to call for more followup.

[Jackpine Radical]

60. I think they both headed due north & dropped their bear off somewhere near Tomahawk.

[Yo_Mama]

61. And what do the Tomahawk folks do with THEIR problem bears? n/t

[Jackpine Radical]

65. There's always the Upper Peninsula.

[irisblue]

113. hey now. Jackpine....

[Jackpine Radical]

125. I thought we'd be doing you a favor.

UP winters are pretty unbearable, if ya ask me.

[Yo_Mama]

57. Perhaps the bears got used to the transport service, and when they wanted to visit their cousins

they just got used to marching into a trap and waiting for the bus???

[Jackpine Radical]

63. Could be.

"Oh, look, a bear van. I think I'll climb in & get away from it all for a while."

[Yo_Mama]

68. Bear equivalent of a Carnival Cruise??? n/t

[Jackpine Radical]

70. Here's what a trailer-mounted culvert trap looks like.

[Yo_Mama]

73. How do they release them?? That would seem to be the hard part.

I've seen culvert traps before, but I never could figure out the end game.

I would not want to be anywhere near the detainee upon release.

[Jackpine Radical]

81. See the cable winch on the side?

You just crank the gate on the end open with that, being out of sight of the bear & the critter is usually very, very happy to just leave this whole eperience behind & head off to the nearest brush.

Of course there's generally someone standing around with a .30-06 just in case things go a little south.

[Yo_Mama]

82. I think I would not volunteer for this job. n/t

[Jackpine Radical]

90. Well, OK. How 'bout something in moose control then?

[Jackpine Radical]

91. Well, OK. How 'bout something in moose control then?

[Yo_Mama]

93. OH.MY.GOD. Brave is an understatement!

Thanks so much for posting this.

[Poiuyt]

52. I caught a raccoon in my attic the other day

I have a hav-a-heart trap in my attic to catch the squirrels that get up there. The other evening, I heard some noise up there, so I went up to get what I thought was a squirrel. To my surprise, there was a huge raccoon in the trap. I was going to drive him to a park on the other side of the river, but someone pulled into my driveway as I was going out to my car. While I was talking to the person in the car, the raccoon broke out of the trap and escaped.

I'm still trying to figure out how the raccoon got up into my attic. I live in a very tall house (could be three stories plus an attic--the third story is not finished off), and I can't find any holes that would be large enough for the varmint to get in.

[Yo_Mama]

54. That's a very substantial raccoon!!!

I am sure she hates you with an undying passion, because they are very territorial.

Good luck! I doubt she will reason quite as you do, so watch out later.

[Aerows]

78. I carted her to some damp woods

and they also have crawfish growing around there, along with poke.

I think she will be fine.

[MannyGoldstein]

99. Poke?

[Aerows]

59. Added a pic

I caught her right at twilight since they seem to more crepuscular than nocturnal, and gave her some cat food and water so that she wouldn't be as stressed as she probably already was.

Anyway, here she is.

[ErikJ]

62. I've got a couple living in my backyard but never had a problem with them

I think they live under the upside down row boat and caught them sleeping on the shed roof one sunny day.

[Aerows]

64. Raccoons in my area are both intellegent

and huge. That is the issue. They can kill a cat in a second, even mine that took down an opossum.

I don't want to be attacked again. I had a rush of a 35 lbs-er, 3 kits, and a 30lbs - er at the door. They charged my door like a pack of dogs.

That has been my issue with the ones around here. They are smart, confident, and could probably run for President if they would stop attacking my cat, the house, and me.

[Aerows]

72. I'm not a vegetarian

I have a garden, I eat more red beans and rice than most people do, and I wear leather.

I lived with a vegan and after one serving of 'RIBS' concocted with peanut butter, I opted out.

I have no idea how you can tie this in to me solving a problem humanely.

[CatWoman]

74. Aerows

[Aerows]

132. I do my best.

I try to be humane, and relocating her and her potential babies seemed the best option.

[spanone]

75. k&r...

[bhikkhu]

83. Nice

One night I heard a ruckus out on my deck by the hottub (half-empty and broken down). Looking out the window I could see a family of raccoons messing around. I thought I'd just step out on the deck and scare them off, but I took one step out and saw a few sets of eyes looking at me from the water and the big momma raccoon was just sitting by the tub like "what're you gonna do about it?". I went back inside and left them to their affairs - not like we were using the hot tub for anything ourselves...

I like the idea that we can all get along and share the world.

[tavernier]

84. I'm a nurse and took care of a kid in central Florida

The dad raised coon dogs. He caught raccoons to train them but said the coons were so smart, he could only use them once or twice to train the dogs. I lived several miles away on the beach, and the coons would break into our trash room. One would jiggle the door handles and two would work their paws under the doors until they opened. I told my employer to come out there to trap them, which he did. I was afraid that he would be bitten. He laughed and and said, "Not to worry. I can make a raccoon my best friend in a second with a chocolate bar. He will climb in my lap and behave like a gentleman, as long as I offer chocolates."

Trust me, I'd never try this, but he did it for a living.

Believe me, I'm not advising this... just passing on an experience in my life.


P.S. The guy also wrestled alligators and said there was no danger because the ones he wrestled were just little guys.

[Liberal_in_LA]

85. look at those lil hands

[Vattel]

87. Thanks for doing right thing.

Soon her young will explore and play much like human children do. She will care for them much like humans care for their young. Hopefully they will all live long, enjoy much and suffer little.

[Aerows]

89. More photos

[url=http://postimg.org/image/53broanux/][img][/img][/url]

[url=http://postimg.org/image/bsib4b96x/][img][/img][/url]

[malaise]

135. I'm impressed

Wow

[Aerows]

136. I have people in this very thread

telling me how horrible I am for trapping and relocating them. I'm stunned that people would think that me taking a raccoon to a wetlands area rather than in suburbia where it will most certainly be killed is an unfavorable solution.

There are some people that argue just to argue, and denigrate the decisions people make just to denigrate them.

I called the department of wildlife and fisheries, and got less of a response than a thread on DU.

It was said that what I did was illegal. I invite the person that files for that to try.

[malaise]

137. You need a one word answer for them

Whatever!!!

[TDale313]

96. You did a good thing.

Especially given what you'd been through. You gave them a chance while keeping yourself safe.

[benld74]

105. I trapped 2 possums last year

and released them down by the river a great distance from the house. Our cats were WAY too curious over them, and I didn't want any vet bills coming their way.

[Aerows]

138. Oppossums

have too low of a body temp to get rabies. They have 50 teeth, and a body temperature of 93F

[lonestarnot]

106. yikes man. You be brave after what they did to you. Be careful out there.

You did the good thing.

[AgingAmerican]

111. My friend uses marijuana cookies

He throws out a bunch of marijuana cookie pieces when he sees raccoon's and they eat them then go away for a couple weeks. There was an alpha male that trapped his girlfriend on the porch, so he gave that one a whole cookie and it never came back.

Apparently raccoon's don't like getting stoned.

[F4lconF16]

122. I would not have guesses that. I'll pass it along. nt

[spinbaby]

129. They come to our compost pile

Every evening they come by to see what we've tossed on the compost pile. Since they've started visiting, we've been including stuff in the compost bucket we normally wouldn't--pork chop bones, ends of moldy cheese, half-eaten sandwiches.

[Aerows]

131. Raccoons are mostly crepuscular

Last edited Thu Mar 26, 2015, 08:42 PM - Edit history (1)

meaning they are active for two hours at dawn, and two hours at dusk.

That is a perspective for dog, chicken and cat to be aware of.