Racoon

I used to work in a State park in the mountains over by the California coast, and we had raccoons galore! There was one that I even named...Spook...because he would sneak up on me every night at the headquarters and scare the daylights out of me. He was huge, and he was also hunch backed and he would get stuck in the garbage can every time. I would hear the can rattling, and when I walked out all I would see were his back toes hanging on for dear life. I would have to lay the can down and pull the lid off so he could get his roly poly butt out of there. Of course, then I would have to share my apple with him as a treat. LOL

Many years ago my sister who has three boys and I decided to take our kids camping at a state park near where my parents lived. So we had a total of 6 kids and we borrowed my dad's van which was fixed up for camping and fishing and we brought a tent too for the kids! Before you go to bed....when you are camping you need to take all your garbage and throw it or put it up out of reach. The kids had tons of toys they brought with so they were laying around our camp site. Well we forgot the first rule and left our garbage sitting in a garbage bag on the picnic table! We awoke in the middle of the night to four racoons eating our garbage....one was playing with a beach ball and one was standing on a skate board! It was the cutest thing....but they can be very dangerous! We didn't have a camera but surely wished we did~!

Yes, I have and it was astounding! Raccoons are not noted for being the friendliest of animals. You had better not cross a raccoon, at least (or so I hear)! I am British and we don't have them here so ... there I was last October, enjoying my vacation in a ground floor (that's 1st floor to you Americans) apartment in one of the more select areas of Beverly Hills. Smoking inside was frowned upon so I took my breaks on the balcony amongst the basil and the ficus benjaminica. One night, quite late, there was nobody about but me and I was enjoying the quiet of the city when I heard a rustling in the leaves to my right. I stood quite still and looked to see what it was and the unmistakeable mask of a raccoon appeared. I looked at him and he looked at me. We regarded each other in silence for a good half minute until we both decided that neither was going to harm the other, whereupon he went about his business in a quite nonchalant manner. I was able to see just how big a raccoon is (I had imagined them to be about the size of a cat) but they are as tall as a medium dog though of lighter build. Many's the night I spent outside after that, hoping that he would come back but he never did. The only other largish animal I saw was one night at midnight when a coyote came trotting down the center of the avenue as bold and careless as you like! He didn't break his stride as he crossed the (usually busy) Beverly Boulevard and continued on his travels towards the hills, where, no doubt, he had a den and perhaps a family under someone's house perched over a canyon. Wild life, especially in towns at night, is truly amazing! I do have to say that what captivated me the most was the regular morning visit of the Anna's Hummingbirds who were looking for tiny insects on the orange bush by the balcony. So tiny and yet so ingenious and, when they caught the morning sun ... a flash of unbelievably bright colour like a purple zirconium!

i used to live in Michigan,on the family farm no less. We used to see racoons all the time. Also deer,turkey,badgers,foxes and opossums. I think most animals in their natural habitat are beautiful. My husband just interviewed for a job in Missouri if he falls into place we will be moving there soon.

Hi Carol, We live in the Northwest and have lots of racoons. Although they are cute and amazing to watch, be very careful as they can be vicious. A very large racoon attacked our large dog last year and did a lot of damage. Be careful.

I have often seen raccoons. I don't especially like them. If people put trash out early, the raccoons can make a mess of it. They make take up residence in a chimney and may even tear shingles off a roof in an attempt to get inside. If you see one in broad daylight, it may be rabid. If it is running around in small circles, it is definitely rabid.

I am in Chicago and we have many raccoons here. I like raccoons, they are smart and funny. I saw two walking next to my house, but I was afraid that my dogs would like to attack them, so I was waiting for raccoons to walk away before walking back home with my dogs.

Hi carolbee! yes I have seen many racoons. We use to have a blueberry field in our back yard at our last house. They would pop their heads out right before it got dark. I could see them through my kitchen window. I think they are cute but you dont want to mess with them. They could be very nasty.

yes, many times. I also live in missouri and we have our share of roadkill for certain - but it is also not uncommon for us to see raccoons... whole families of them, on our property trying to devise a way to get at the chickens. we've trapped many of the cute vermin. I am astonished that my post as originally written was rejected by mylot. you can not use the acceptable shortened form of raccoon!

Hello dear carol bee friend. I have never seen a live racoon in my life, but I often see them on TV. I think that they are very cute animals. You are lucky to have the chance to see a live one though it is the first time that you have ever seen a real and live one. Good luck.

Raccoons out in the street, was this druing the day or at night? This concerns me since they could have rabies. Yes, People think that because I live in NY State, that we're all city people. There are some large cities, but the entire state is not all NYCity. I live in the country and raccoons generally stay away from us unless rabid or foraging for food at night. Take care

When I lived in St. Louis I saw raccoons all the time. Running across the road or across my yard. Now that I like out in the middle of nowhere I do not see them anywhere. Now I see opossums, and turkeys, armadillos, and a BUNCH of deer.

I live in Washington and we live in a huge city and the racoons will just be out walking around. It's nuts. There was one that walked right infront of my slider so we got our son out of bed to see wild life. Lol They are weird and scary I think.

I live in Missouri also. And I don't live on a farm. although My little girl would love it. I don't go many places. I have been here for a few years now and still trying to figure out why they call it the "show me" state not much to see here but a bunch of cows.