Raccoons have very expressive faces.

[Tobin S.]

I found that out first-hand last week.

I came home from work in the afternoon last week on a day that had been very warm; well into the 90s. I had a bit of trash from the car and went to our trash bin to throw it out. When I opened the lid, I saw a raccoon in the bottom of the bin. I knew raccoons had been getting in there because of a few messes I'd had to clean up and also from seeing one near the bin when I left for work one morning before sun-up.

This raccoon was not full grown and I thought that he was dying or near death. It had gotten into the bin and was unable to get out and had been in there all day in that blistering heat and humidity. But I didn't know for sure. I tipped the bin over and waited to see if it would run out from the other side. I stood there for a few moments and nothing happened. Then I walked around to the opening and there it was staring back at me, very much alive.

The poor little critter looked at me like I was about to kill it, " Oh my Dog! Killer hooman!" Then it ran out of the bin right by my legs in search of somewhere dark to hide.

When I related this story to my father-in-law he said I was lucky it didn't take a chunk of my leg with it. I think if the raccoon had been fully grown I might have encountered a more hostile critter.

[liberal N proud]

1. I have been fighting raccoons all summer

They have been raiding our garden and destroying the bird feeders on a nightly basis.

One night I went out in the back yard with my LED flashlight. I had the whole clan cornered. The sat there defiantly I had a six foot rod that I had to use to prod them over the fence. One climbed on top of the post and hissed at me until I gave him a little push.

They were back the next night.

[Tobin S.]

2. They are persistent critters.

They are kind of like cats in that regard. Unless you are of the type that likes to wield a shotgun, I'm afraid the only thing you can do is try to trap them in a live trap and relocate them.

[NJCher]

3. I'm glad you got him out of the trash bin

That would have been a horrible way for him to die.

I had one that broke into an area where I was feeding a little stray cat. He panicked and ran into my bedroom, where I had left the door open to check the stray's food. I figured he'd leave, so I left the door open and figured I'd come back to find him out.

Wrong. Wrong-O. He would not leave to save his soul. It was a week night and I had to go to work the next day. I called a friend, and between the two of us, we tried everything. Bribing with food (an apple). Pleas, general prods with a broom. He crawled into the back of my armoire and stood up on his hind legs. His paws were casually crossed on the rod that holds up the clothes. It was unbelievable!

I took pics and if I weren't so tired, I'd post them.

Finally the city' animal control officer came over, even at that ridiculous hour (1 a.m.), and carried him out with a noose. He didn't like that at all, but he ran like a nut and my husband said we'd never see him again.

Inside of a month, he was back again, raiding the stray kitty's food.



Cher

[nomorenomore08]

4. Owning a cat made me really dislike raccoons.

Just thinking of what they could do to poor Bob the Siamese (R.I.P.) given the chance.

(And no, a raccoon didn't get him. He died suddenly last year, possibly from a heart attack.

[Tobin S.]

6. We have an indoor/outdoor cat and I worry about her.

She can hold her own against another cat, but I don't think she would fare well against something bigger. She stays outside most of the time in the summer; we can't keep her in. In the winter, she stays indoors mostly. I think she just stays out of the way of the raccoons.

[nomorenomore08]

7. We also had a frail, elderly tabby cat that my sister had adopted in old age.

Funny thing is, she could strike terror into other, much bigger cats just by hissing and yowling.

[mnhtnbb]

5. My husband and I lived in Santa Monica--in Rustic Canyon--

across from a very well known photographer who worked out of his house.

He used to feed the raccoons, and you can see a photo he took of them
on his website: http://www.petergowland.com/PGanimals.html

Peter is no longer with us, and his wife just died this year. He was an amazing guy.

[NJCher]

8. amazing photos!

The bandit photos are very funny, but the rest of them are remarkable, too!

Thanks for posting this. I intend to go back and browse on a week day when I need a LOLcats-type fix!


Cher

[marzipanni]

9. Wow- I enjoyed looking at the animals in his yard photos, but

by removing the end of the link I was able to go to the whole website- and it is a treasure trove! It may be especially interesting to me since my husband and I are exploring Southern California more now since we've driven there couple of times when our son started going to UCLA last year. Also, now that we are in our early 60s, and have seen how much things change over the years, it's interesting to see photos taken by someone who was in our parents generation. (My mom was born a year earlier than Peter, and died a few months after he died)
After looking around the site I can say they appear to have been a very fun couple who led interesting lives!

[Liberal_in_LA]

10. cool photos

[pinboy3niner]

11. For expressiveness, I think Aerows would win a face-off, hands down