Look Who’s Come For Dinner!
This little guy has become a regular at the tray feeder in the afternoons. I put “woodpecker mix” in the tray — it’s got peanuts, sunflower seeds, raisins, pumpkin seeds, and cracked corn. Apparently he likes it. We have a bird bath clamped to the deck railing, too, so he can get a drink of water with his meal.
It’s unusual to see a raccoon being so active during the day. I have to assume that since this one is apparently pretty young he just doesn’t know any better. Luckily, people don’t generally let their dogs run loose around here and the foxes that also hang out in the back woodsy area are probably too small themselves to give this little guy any trouble.
That reminds me, though, that I did hear a fox bark this morning on my way back from Panera. The bark came from the woods surrounding a big pond near our neighborhood. Cool. Foxes have a really unique bark. To me it always sounds like they’re saying, “Chat! Chat!”
A raccoon behaving abnormally, e.g., coming out in the daylight, has a high probability of rabies, which is endemic in the local raccoon population. A shame, since they are exceptionally bright and beautiful creatures.
Hi Barb! I hope you’re wrong. I’ve seen this little guy for at least three weeks and he appears to be behaving normally (other than being out in the daylight.) Either way, of course I stay away from him and don’t make any attempt to interact directly. How would I know if the raccoon had rabies? Is there a way of telling — other than killing him and testing, I mean?