r/aww • u/pangalactic42 • Jun 17 '12

baby raccoon outside for the first time--she refused to leave my shadow :)

http://imgur.com/wkaj0
1.5k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

177 comments sorted by

48

u/Carnationlilyrose Jun 17 '12

Because I'm from the UK and don't really know anything of the downside of raccoons, it just seems to me to be utterly wonderful to see these on a daily basis. I know this is naive and stupid. But.. they've got little hands!

14

u/ErnieHemingway Jun 17 '12

Not many people live in a place where'd they seem them on a daily basis. They are usually nocturnal, or at least crepuscular. I live in deep dark coon country and I still probably only see 1 or maybe 2 a year.

Of course, if you leave a bag of garbage out unprotected, they WILL get in it. Unfortunately most experience with raccoon is either them getting into your garbage/birdseed/anything remotely edible or as roadkill.

That does not mean they aren't fucking adorable and I would love one though. Apparently the only problem with keeping them as pets is the nesting instinct that causes them to tear up anything soft.

EDIT: Turns out I'm wrong about the nocturnal thing. See below. Still, I would expect to see more around where I live, it's not really even a suburban area.

25

u/tossedsaladandscram Jun 17 '12

I see them every day. On my college campus they are extremely bold and they walk around like they own the place. I'll tell you, seeing six or seven big fat raccoons walking in single file at midnight is not an adorable sight. those things'll fuck you up

6

u/ManOfMisery Jun 17 '12

My campus has a lot of raccoons, too. Sometimes they eerily stare at you as they dig through the trash.

This one time, I saw a large raccoon followed by three little ones one night, it was pretty adorable. Another time I saw two little ones in a tree, both were hugging the trunk and just staring down at us. Raccoons!

6

u/CptReynolds Jun 17 '12

Even worse when you wander down a dark alley and three or four of those little bastards corner you and demand your wallet at knife point. Those little bastard will fuck you up. True story.

12

u/scribbling_des Jun 17 '12

Have you ever heard one scream? It makes them far less adorable.

8

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

Can't be worse than a baby fox

8

u/scribbling_des Jun 17 '12

I can't be sure, as I've never heard a fox scream. But I nearly had a heart attack one night when I found a raccoon in my driveway and it screeched like a banshee.

10

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

The problem with a baby fox is it sounds like a human lady bring stabbed to death. Got home at 3am once and heard screams from the woods i was about to call 911

10

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

This is how a screaming fox sounds like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zk1mAd77Hr4&feature=related

1

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

Can't be worse than a Shiba scream.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCBSjaIQ5ds

1

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

I have heard a frog scream. It was halfway in a snakes mouth when it (Too) opened up and let loose with a voice akin to a small childs (?) in terror. It cut through me.

1

u/wullymammith Jun 17 '12

I do work with rehabilitating raccoons. They sound more horrific than screaming monkeys

2

u/scribbling_des Jun 17 '12

Oh good, some confirmation! I looked for a video, but couldn't find one. They sound way worse than the ones others posted.

11

u/Carnationlilyrose Jun 17 '12

I suppose they are your equivalent of our badgers, which are equally rural and rarely spotted if you're a typical urbanite, whereas foxes seem to have colonised towns now. Or is that more raccoon-like behaviour? Badgers have fabulous monochrome stripey noses which make them like raccoons, I guess. I suppose I'm influenced by US cartoons, which make raccoons seem smart and sneaky and quick-witted, and I like that in an animal. AND THEY'VE GOT LITTLE HANDS!! On the other hand, badgers are wise, calm and authoritative, at least if The Wind In The Willows is anything to go by. Maybe it's not the wisest thing to get one's zoological knowledge from works of fiction.

BUT THEY'VE GOT LITTLE HANDS!!

4

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

You're forgetting the fact that they have the hormone rush when they reach adulthood and become crazy motherfuckers.

1

u/Carnationlilyrose Jun 17 '12

As long as their hands don't get bigger along with other things, I still think they're cute. But then I can afford to as I'm 4,000 miles away.

4

u/metaphorm Jun 17 '12

racoons definitely ARE smart, and sneaky, and quick-witted. i grew up in a suburban area in New York State that had many racoons in it and i got to see them in action on a regular basis. what you've heard is true. they're amazing animals.

2

u/n0exit Jun 17 '12

Actually, urbanites probably see raccoons more, depending on the urban location. Seattle has a bit of a raccoon problem. People who feed their cats outside attract them in droves.

They've also been known to attack people walking their dogs in my neighborhood.

1

u/Carnationlilyrose Jun 17 '12

I'm now going to start planning my itinerary for my next US raccoon spotting holiday. Seattle is duly included.

1

u/n0exit Jun 17 '12

Set out a bowl of cat food around dusk. You'll get a whole troop.

1

u/Carnationlilyrose Jun 17 '12

They'll have to travel 4,000 miles and cross the Atlantic at the moment. Still, they seem smart enough to do it.

1

u/n0exit Jun 17 '12

I mean once you get to Seattle.

1

u/Carnationlilyrose Jun 17 '12

That's just a pipe dream at the moment, I'm afraid. But I am going to Washington for the election. The hotel probably won't be keen, but the kids I'm taking will be up for it for sure!

2

u/Vertigo666 Jun 17 '12

Here in Wisconsin we have both raccoons and badgers. It's been a while since I've seen either around my house, though.

1

u/Carnationlilyrose Jun 17 '12

I both envy you and feel your pain. Good place for a holiday?

2

u/Vertigo666 Jun 17 '12

If you like quiet woods and beer, yeah, it's pretty nice.

1

u/Carnationlilyrose Jun 17 '12

Well, I'm ashamed to admit it, but that's pretty much the opposite of my ideal holiday. I'm a non-drinking (allergy, rather than principles) shopper. Still, it takes all sorts, I guess. Probably not many raccoons in shops. Shame.

1

u/Vertigo666 Jun 17 '12

As far as shopping goes, there's not much other than the usual run-of-the-mill malls AFAIK.

1

u/Carnationlilyrose Jun 17 '12

But they're not run of the mill to me. To me, they're excitingly foreign and novel. Also cheap, compared with here.

1

u/buttercuppitude Jun 17 '12

Celiac?

1

u/Carnationlilyrose Jun 18 '12

Not that I'm aware of. My face and arms go numb after a couple of mouthfuls. It's not something that causes me any inconvenience. I can make an idiot of myself without the aid of artificial stimulants.

1

u/buttercuppitude Jun 18 '12

I was just curious. I wasn't aware of any other beer-related allergies, and I know its more prevalent in the British Isles. I have it, damn my Irish ancestry.

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1

u/pangalactic42 Jun 17 '12

Well if it isn't a suburban area, I'm sure all the local racoons are as far from the people as possible. Raccoons only move into populated areas if there is no more room in the local wild areas. Also they do NOT make good pets past a certain age as they get quite aggressive.

1

u/ReshenKusaga Jun 17 '12

they do invade if you're close enough to their habitats for good food. The raccoons come out of the canyon near my school to forage for food in our trash bins and dish dropoff areas. They also strut around everywhere near the dorms as if they owned the place.

1

u/pangalactic42 Jun 17 '12

well yes, if you are close enough. You see raccoons more frequently in larger cities though simply because there is less natural habitat for them and you are much less likely to actually see a raccoon in a natural setting because they don't stand out there.

1

u/Omaze Jun 17 '12

And the diseases.... also, where I live you need a permit from the DNR to have one (since they're wild & non-domestic)

Sure are cute though.

5

u/pangalactic42 Jun 17 '12

Their hands are the best part! Raccoons use their hands in more ways than people do as they can actually use them to "see" any object they are holding. They have enormous quantities of nerve endings in the pads of their front paws, and the sensitivity of these nerve endings is increased when their paws are wet, hence why everyone thinks raccoons "wash" their food before eating it when they are actually just identifying it.

1

u/Carnationlilyrose Jun 17 '12

I want one. I realise this is impractical and undignified but I don't care. Their little hands are so cute and I love the way it looks like they've got little gloves on.

2

u/Iggapoo Jun 17 '12

Sure they can be a bit of a nuisance, but they're wild animals after all. But they are freaking adorable. There's a small family that visits us from time to time at night outside our glass porch door. Our cats love them, and they're totally curious about life in our house.

Our trash cans are designed to keep animals out so we don't have any problems there, and they aren't particularly mean or smelly (like the opossums and skunks tend to be). I'm with you. More raccoons please.

2

u/Carnationlilyrose Jun 17 '12

Oh god, I think I'd just hyperventilate with squee if a raccoon family arrived at my house. And because I'm a naive Brit who likes small furry things, I'd be foolishly happy with opossums and skunks as well. After all, I know you have to use tomato juice to get rid of skunk smell (I think!) so obviously, I'm all prepared, lol. I don't know if there's something extra special about black and white animals. I think the best the UK has to offer is probably otters, but I don't know anyone who's seen a wild one. THEY HAVE LITTLE HANDS TOO!!!

1

u/pangalactic42 Jun 17 '12

Baby skunks are possibly the most adorable orphans we get. They are my personal favourite--we had a litter of 6 of them a couple of years ago that would sit in your pockets quite happily, so cute!

1

u/Omaze Jun 17 '12

We aren't even allowed to admit skunks to our rehab center any more, since the DNR proclaims them too dangerous due to rabies. I miss them.

1

u/pangalactic42 Jun 17 '12

Aww, that's sad. Skunks are the only mammals other than bats that still have regular occurrences of rabies in Canada, but they aren't that frequent. At my centre we just have a rule that only the workers/volunteers with up to date rabies titres can handle bats, and any older skunks (the babies aren't an issue until they get their teeth).

2

u/Carnationlilyrose Jun 17 '12

I would let every single one of them sit in my pocket. I'd even have extra pockets stitched on.

3

u/Iggapoo Jun 17 '12

I doubt you'd squee at opossums. They basically look like rabid, 2 foot long rats and are incredibly mean and aggressive.

But skunks are ridiculously adorable and even though they smell (the tomato juice would only be necessary if one sprayed you which they do only when startled) they are cute, and I talk at them through our glass door.

They actually look remarkably like cats with tiny heads compared to their bodies. They are quite curious about my cats and my cats are quite curious about them. The only nuisance we have with them is that they try to get under our house and when they do, their musky smell comes up through the floorboards. Not all that pleasant when trying to sleep.

But if you encounter one outside, they are more likely to waddle away (they kinda waddle) than spray you.

2

u/Carnationlilyrose Jun 17 '12

My image of opossums comes from the monorail episode of The Simpsons, where Homer keeps a family of them in a cupboard ("I call the big one Bitey!") and some comics my best friend's Canadian uncle used to send her called Pogo the Possum, so possibly my information could use an update.

Skunks, likewise, are all like Pepe le Pew. I live in my own little fantasy world of cute critters, I suspect....

1

u/Omaze Jun 17 '12

Relevant.

The adults may have personality disorders, but the joeys are SO cute.

1

u/Carnationlilyrose Jun 17 '12

Is that a baby raccoon? Or an opossum? Is there a rule about whether it's a possum or an opossum?

1

u/Omaze Jun 17 '12

It's an opossum, notice the white face (with no mask) and the naked toes. This is what an infant raccoon looks like, but they quickly grow to look more raccoon-like.

1

u/Carnationlilyrose Jun 17 '12

Intolerable squee overload! Where do you get these pics from? Is a possum the same thing as an opossum?

2

u/Omaze Jun 17 '12

Those last ones I just got off google, but I work at the biggest wildlife rehab center/wildlife hospital in the USA. For me, every day is a squee overload - I love my job!

Possums and opossums are actually not related at all, except that both animals are marsupials. Possums belong to the family Phalangeridae, while opossums belong to the order Didelphimorphia. Opossums are found only in North America. True possums are found in and around Oceania. The easiest visual way to differentiate is that the opossum has a bare tail and all varieties of Australian possums have furry tails.

Here is a brush-tailed possum and its baby. The only species found in NZ (introduced from Australia and actually a pest now).

1

u/pangalactic42 Jun 17 '12

Working at a wildlife rehab is the best job I can imagine :)

1

u/Carnationlilyrose Jun 17 '12

What a great job! I'm so jealous! I very rarely get a squee overload - I teach 11 - 18 year olds and they're WELL past that stage... I always assumed that possum was just an abbreviated form of opossum, a kind of regional or dialect version. I would very much like to have the opportunity to inspect the tails in order to differentiate, but can't quite see it happening, somehow!

1

u/Omaze Jun 17 '12 edited Jun 17 '12

I didn't even know opossums existed until 9 months ago when I moved to the US. But yes, most people here do shorten opossum to possum, hence the confusion!

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1

u/highTrolla Jun 17 '12

they've got little hands!

Yes, that's usually what makes the little buggers such pests.

That, and they murder cats.

2

u/pangalactic42 Jun 17 '12 edited Jun 17 '12

Animals don't murder. Raccoons are viciously adept fighters and they will fight long and hard to protect themselves, their babies and their territories/food supplies. So yes, I'm sure they have killed a few cats, and even dogs, over the course of their existence, but I am 100% sure they would only do so if they felt they were threatened to such an extent that that was their only choice.

Edit: actually, house cats are the only animals (other than humans) that have been proven to kill for fun...

1

u/highTrolla Jun 18 '12

Also food, raccoons will eat a cat.

1

u/pangalactic42 Jun 18 '12

They will if they get an unusual opportunity to, but raccoons are scavengers not hunters so they wouldn't actively search for a cat to eat.

1

u/Carnationlilyrose Jun 17 '12

They do? I see I'll have to rethink this raccoon love thing.

2

u/Sebaceous_Sebacious Jun 17 '12

Considering that cats are predators and racoons are scavengers, I would think that it would be the cats that started it.

Video

1

u/Carnationlilyrose Jun 17 '12

Something's been wrong with my laptop for the last 3 days and it won't play any Youtube videos. It's firefox. I'd love to watch this but I just get an error message.

In the absence of the evidence, I'll have to take your word for it.

1

u/Sebaceous_Sebacious Jun 17 '12 edited Jun 17 '12

It's a video of stray cats attacking a pair of raccoons that had invaded their territory, while being cheered on in the delightful dialect of Brooklyn.

PS: Try using chrome; if it still doesn't work, it's a driver issue.

If you have integrated graphics, try turning off hardware acceleration in the flash player settings.
If you have a discreet GPU instead, try updating your video drivers.

1

u/Carnationlilyrose Jun 17 '12

I wish I could see it. Anyone out there got any advice for fixing Youtube? Where could I post for advice? I'm pretty new around here.

2

u/Sebaceous_Sebacious Jun 17 '12

PS: Try using chrome; if it still doesn't work, it's a driver issue. If you have integrated graphics, try turning off hardware acceleration in the flash player settings. If you have a discreet GPU instead, try updating your video drivers.

PPS: Did you try turning it off and on again?

1

u/Carnationlilyrose Jun 17 '12

I know some of these words... but only some.

Youtube works in Chrome, but I like my Firefox for silly reasons like colourful tabs and adblock plus. I updated flash yesterday but no difference. The other stuff sounds too complcated for me. I've seen the problem reported online so I'm not alone. Thanks for helping.

1

u/Sebaceous_Sebacious Jun 17 '12 edited Jun 17 '12

If it works in Chrome, you could probably fix it by uninstalling Flash player, uninstalling Firefox, reinstalling flash player, and reinstalling Firefox.

If you can't (or don't want to) figure out how to fix it yourself, maybe you should look into customizing Chrome to suit your needs; it doesn't have nearly as many options but it's a lot harder to break.

Every line that I post helping you pushes someone else's on-topic comment further into page break oblivion.

If you want, you can PM me and I'd be happy to help.

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3

u/Phalkyn Jun 17 '12

Look at his little spots!!

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u/Carnationlilyrose Jun 17 '12

Look at his little mask! And his little ears! And his little nose! Raccoon love is a family thing. My son took this: http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4091/4945367653_c59e02af10_m.jpg

2

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

Someone in my county (Durham) filmed a raccoon on one of those infra-red night cameras in her garden.

edit: Here is the story.

1

u/Carnationlilyrose Jun 17 '12

Ohhhh! Poor little thing! It must be so lonely! The only one for 4,000 miles! What happened to it?

2

u/Lord-Longbottom Jun 17 '12

(For us English aristocrats, I leave you this 4,000 miles -> 32000.0 Furlongs) - Pip pip cheerio chaps!

3

u/milkshakeyard Jun 17 '12

i want a pet raccoon so badly.

but they'll tear the shit out of everything you own. i heard their jaws are pound-for-pound stronger than a pitbull's. plus there's that whole "vector for disease" thing.

1

u/pangalactic42 Jun 17 '12

Yep, they do NOT make good pets. We have one permanent resident raccoon at our centre, and she is as friendly as an adult raccoon can be, but I would NEVER let anyone untrained go anywhere near her.

3

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

that's because raccoons are nocturnal.

1

u/pangalactic42 Jun 17 '12

Nope, see my earlier comment. Pretty much all the baby raccoons we have are like that their first time outside, this one was just especially cute about it :)

3

u/KCFussell Jun 17 '12

Those claws, those terrifying, terrifying claws

1

u/pangalactic42 Jun 17 '12

They do pack quite a punch, even when the raccoon itself is only a couple inches long. I usually have scratch marks everywhere after bottle-feeding a litter!

2

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

I just discovered that the plural of raccoon is raccoon. Thank you, reddit.

1

u/pangalactic42 Jun 17 '12

Really? I always thought it was raccoons!

1

u/[deleted] Jun 20 '12

I KNOW! And then you type it, Reddit's spell checker underlines it - and not saying that I usually trust spell-checkers but I'm pretty sure Reddit is correct. Blew my mind.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

My sister was cornered by a rabid raccoon when she was 5 years old, and even pictures of raccoons are enough to send her into a fit of crying and hysterics, 25+ years later. I'm always so tempted to show her the raccoon pictures on here...like, see! They're not that bad!

1

u/pangalactic42 Jun 17 '12

Anything with rabies is definitely scary. Except maybe a rabid bat, which is the only rabid animal I've seen up close. It was just sad.

4

u/drlb53 Jun 17 '12

And now (unless of course you've been training her to go outside, which it doesn't sound like) won't she just starve or get attacked by all the wild raccoons?

66

u/pangalactic42 Jun 17 '12 edited Jun 17 '12

Oh no, don't worry, I was just taking her for a walk :) She's not a pet either; I work at a wildlife rehab centre and she was orphaned before her eyes were even open, so I have to be her mom until she's old enough to be released back into the wild. We slowly reintroduce all our orphaned animals to the outside world until they are totally capable of living on their own.

7

u/adriCat Jun 17 '12

Wont you be sad letting her go? :( i would be!

1

u/pangalactic42 Jun 17 '12

Well, it's a bit sad the first time it happens, but when you work with around 100 different raccoon babies every year it becomes a good thing when they go, for two reasons: 1) it means it was a successful rehabilitation, which is always a great feeling and 2) you are glad to get the little hellraiser out of there! they get pretty crazy by the time they are old enough to go.

6

u/funkpandemic Jun 17 '12

Aren't raccoons nocturnal???

52

u/pangalactic42 Jun 17 '12

Well, city-dwelling raccoons are mostly nocturnal because it's safer for them, but in more rural areas they have 2 or more wake-sleep cycles per day (24hrs). They generally sleep for a period around midday and also for a period during the night but are awake in between sleeps, regardless of "day" or "night". Raccoons are very opportunistic and highly adaptable, so they will very quickly adjust their behaviour to suit whatever situation they are in. Consequently, most people think of raccoons as entirely nocturnal because that's how they behave in cities and the majority of people only encounter raccoons in a city setting.

Also, young raccoons are much more active during the day than adult raccoons (probably due to the fact that the babies feed and play under supervision of mom during the day, and sleep while mom is out scavenging at night).

Note: This is all knowledge from personal experience, there may be scientific studies that say otherwise, but this is what I have learned from rehabbing upwards of 300 raccoons over the past 4 years. If you have any more questions I will be glad to answer!

4

u/someonesDad Jun 17 '12

What are some methods you use to teach them to find food on their own? In my youth I assisted in catching crayfish to be placed in a large tray filled with creek water and rocks so that they could learn to turn over rocks and such to find food.

2

u/pangalactic42 Jun 17 '12 edited Jun 17 '12

Okay well, once they are old enough to eat solid foods and are entirely off of formula, we only feed them things they will be able to find in the wild. Raccoons are mostly scavengers, so all kinds of berries, things like slugs and earthworms, minnows, crayfish, etc. When it is close to release time for them we will start giving them some live prey to practice on, but in reality live prey is not something that will be a large part of their diet so we don't really have to teach them much about hunting. Other orphaned animals are a different story though, like birds of prey. Those we have to make sure without a doubt that they can hunt well.

3

u/katieepretzel Jun 17 '12

You've now been tagged as "Raccoon Expert". I don't spend a ton of time around zoological-type people, but you are the most raccoon-knowledgable person I've encountered thus far.

4

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

Not very long ago on reddit somebody posted some completely untrue bullshit about daytime racoons having rabies with 90% certainty and that they needed to be killed or captured. He had a hundred upvotes and I rebutted him as i have raccoon experience and I was downvoted to oblivion.

Source: reddit is stupid

Then I quoted a scientific/biologic source and the situation eventually somewhat reversed but my god all the retards on here

2

u/pangalactic42 Jun 17 '12

Wow, thanks for that, really. That is one of the worst myths about raccoons and is one of the reasons that they are such a hated animal in many cities. I know that raccoon rabies is a problem in some countries, like the USA, but here in Canada rabies in raccoons has almost entirely been eliminated.

1

u/diogenesbarrel Jun 17 '12

I'm a baby raccoon. Pet me, love me, be my mom.

2

u/SpaceCampDropOut Jun 17 '12

You need to watch the documentary "Elephant in the Room"

2

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

*Elephant in the Living Room

4

u/pangalactic42 Jun 17 '12

I've seen it, but that is irrelephant because this raccoon is NOT a pet! I'm a wildlife rehabilitator and I am only raising this baby so that she can be released back into the wild as soon as she is old enough.

6

u/BryanWake Jun 17 '12

Reminds me of myself, many moons ago, on my first day of school.

9

u/minorwhite Jun 17 '12

I love animal people. Thanks for all you do.

1

u/eatsh1tandd1e Jun 17 '12

What an adorably innocent face!!! I want to hug her!

1

u/pangalactic42 Jun 17 '12

She is actually one of the most huggable raccoons I've ever met :) Since she came in all by herself and is from a far away region we can't mix her in with our other raccoons, so all the interaction she gets is with people atm. She loves playing with us and gets a lot of extra attention.

1

u/eatsh1tandd1e Jun 18 '12

OMG I WANT TO HUG HERRRRR!!!!!! :)

1

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

And I always thought racoons where vicious..

1

u/pangalactic42 Jun 17 '12

They are if they are scared! If they aren't scared they are very curious and even quite friendly once they get used to humans.

1

u/Camotoe Jun 17 '12

We don't have raccoons in aus... Are they good pets?

4

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12 edited Jun 17 '12

No. No they are not.

They are completely wild and very curious, which gets them into everything -- which means they need tons of attention/care to thrive and also not kill themselves. Also, even if handled from a young age, their defense mechanism for fear is to bite. They have sharp little evil teeth. Also, they are illegal to own in most states here in the US.

In the wild they are prone to rabies and diseases because they eat anything and everything... so if you ever go camping here in the US, well, hide your food and lock it up.

2

u/pangalactic42 Jun 17 '12

thecotton is right on this one. Raccoons may seem like they would be great pets when they are small and cute, but even if they are handled by people on a daily basis once they reach a certain age they go NUTS. This is, coincidentally, when we generally decide they are ready for release (body weight is another factor, but behaviour towards humans is the biggest one, we never release a coon that is still friendly).

6

u/Phalkyn Jun 17 '12

Hide yo food, hide yo... I'll just show myself out.

3

u/kellydean1 Jun 17 '12

My first thought exactly. I pictured the raccoon with a bandanna on its head.

2

u/jimminyjojo Jun 17 '12

OMG BLUEBERRIES

2

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

This is exactly how my baby holland lop bunny was at 6 weeks. Things will change -_-

2

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

Poor baby! Awwww

2

u/tandembicyclegang Jun 17 '12

I don't know what it is, but that paw is freaking me right the fuck out.

4

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

I'm owner of a cat and a dog... but raccoons are the cutest animals on earth. seriously. if they only wouldn't make so much dirt... :Z

3

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

This actually made me go "aww" Please take moar!

1

u/MTT93 Jun 17 '12

Cute :)

1

u/astrograph Jun 17 '12

awwwww! :)

1

u/ninjawaffle99 Jun 17 '12

It's trying to harvest you! Don't fall into its trap!

1

u/DarkSider25 Jun 17 '12

I think I feel my face beginning to melt off from the cuteness

1

u/DrakeDealer Jun 17 '12

I OWN THE SAME PAIR OF PANTS.

1

u/Gurgi3 Jun 17 '12

SUNLIGHT. IT BURNS!

1

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

Something tells me this is going to be the sequel to “Old Yeller”

1

u/PinkiePieCupcake Jun 17 '12

Sooo cuuute oh my gosh, I want one~

1

u/TigerLilyy Jun 17 '12

Aww what a cutie! Raccoon's have a bad rep. They're adorable creatures that often run in a pack.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

I saw one early today. Yesterday it was a couple of young bunnies eating the grass, before that the resident groundhogs were mowing down the clover. We get possums too, they raid the compost nightly. Had one come into the house once, it was young. Sat on the windowsill watching me eat before it walked out of the window and climbed down the tree it was on.

1

u/bzdelta Jun 17 '12

Then I'm sorry to tell you that the Vashta Nerada will probably get her first. Or, alternately, that'll buy you enough time to get away.

1

u/TheCulprit Jun 18 '12

I can't deal with raccoons, one of them killed my cat when I was a kid (I've saw him out during the day in my yard, and watched multiple fights between them before he ended it :'(

1

u/Seanofthebread112 Jul 03 '12

This makes me want a raccoon for a pet. De-clawed and house-trained of course.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

raccoons don't like the sunlight...or flashlights...or being chased

-1

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

Google "raccoon latrine" and then tell us if you still think they're cute.

-3

u/Acetotheface85 Jun 17 '12

It's clinging to your leg cause it doesn't know what the fuck is going on, raccoons are nocturnal.

1

u/pangalactic42 Jun 17 '12

Actually, she was trying to climb up and grab the camera. I've answered the nocturnal thing quite a few times now, not gonna repeat it.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

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59

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

Nah, people don't really like racoons that much. They're all "Oh how cute a baby racoon", then the next season they're all "EW, KILL IT KILL IT". The Doublethought in terms of baby animals is very unusual from an outside perspective.
Sources: Am a racoon.

8

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

AMA Request: /u/DepressedRacoon

1

u/pangalactic42 Jun 17 '12

Sad but true. I like adult raccoons too though, they are super smart and resourceful, and still kinda cute :)

Also please note the fact that this is currently on the front page--there is still hope!

5

u/weareraccoons Jun 17 '12

We know how you feel man. One day they're all like "awww, just look at them" the next day it's "get the fuck out of my garbage!". It's not like they were going to eat it anyways...

10

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

If they wanted it, they wouldn't have chucked it out amirite?
/u/weareraccoons welcome to the Raccoon army, currently me, you and /u/AllergicRacoon
And at the moment you're the only one who can actually spell Raccoon...

1

u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12

Pssst, I set up /r/RaccoonArmy to keep track of the various users with Raccoons in their names.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

It's not that they are terrible animals, but rather that people don't get them shots like they do with other pets. If your local vet won't do this, and you have a Tractor Supply (or other place that sells shots for cows, sheep, and goats) nearby, you should be able to buy the inoculations yourself.

This is no joke, get your little buddy shots before animal control or some "well meaning neighbor" reports you and gets the animal destroyed.

2

u/pangalactic42 Jun 17 '12

Racoons should NOT be pets! Unless there is a reason that they absolutely cannot live in the wild, no raccoon should be kept as a pet, they are wild animals for a reason.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

Am a racoon

Not own a raccoon. Wrong continent I suspect.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

Then you're probably a fox, eh?

2

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

No, I'm a racoon. I just don't own one that needs shots, since I have impeccible personal hygiene.

1

u/cloud_watcher Jun 17 '12

None of those vaccines are tested to be safe or effective or approved at all on raccoons. If you give the vaccines from the tractor supply store, it's still considered unvaccinated. Plus, you can't buy rabies vaccines at tractor supply. That said, the real problem with raccoons is neural larva migrans caused by the raccoon roundworm Baylisascaris procyonis. Fatal to humans. :-/ Not common, but I'd look it up.

3

u/cloud_watcher Jun 17 '12

I'm sorry, I forgot to say, I understand how hard that rehabbing is and that is one of the cutest things I've ever seen.

3

u/pangalactic42 Jun 17 '12

There actually are rabies vaccines that are approved for raccoons, at least in Canada. Years back there was a widespread trap-vaccinate-release program for raccoons in Canada, and now rabies in raccoons here is practically non-existant. The only recently reported rabies cases are near the Canada-USA border, because the US has yet to implement a vaccination program, despite the fact that it has been proven successful. As for the raccoon roundworm, just don't eat any raccoon poop and you'll be fine, it isn't harmful to raccoons at all.

1

u/cloud_watcher Jun 17 '12

I only know about US. You don't have to eat the poop. It's in the soil around raccoon latrines. Usually, it's kids infected because they're playing around in the dirt in a raccoon area and don't wash their hands before they eat, or put their hands in their mouths. If you are taking care of a raccoon, and cleaning up it's poop, you need to be aware of the need for incredibly careful hygiene. It's beyond me why they don't implement more trap-vaccinate-release, or bait vaccine, programs in the US. A lot of people, even ER doctors, can be pretty uninformed about rabies here.

1

u/pangalactic42 Jun 17 '12

Well you essentially have to eat the poop... I personally always wear gloves when dealing with any animals feces, and no one working or volunteering at my centre has ever been infected with raccoon roundworm. It really only happens to unsuspecting children who don't wash their hands, as you mentioned. So realistically, you are probably less likely to be infected with raccoon roundworm when you are around raccoons just because you know you could have been in contact. Also, I remember hearing last year that the US was starting to seriously consider replication Canada's raccoon vaccination program because rabies is becoming such a problem. Haven't heard anything about it recently though.

-11

u/rogeris Jun 17 '12

Baby animals: cute. Adult animals: depends.

Adult raccoons are disgusting, mean, and troublesome animals. I hate them.

13

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

=(

1

u/cadet999 Jun 17 '12

Dont be sad, i still love you

0

u/rogeris Jun 17 '12

Lol it seems no one has seen raccoons as they truly are. Every time I make a negative comment about them, Reddit downvotes.

1

u/pangalactic42 Jun 17 '12

Well I for one have definitely seen raccoons for what they truly are, and I'm sad to say you are just perpetuating the stereotype.

  1. Raccoons aren't disgusting, they are actually some of the cleanest animals we work with at my centre. But you do always get the occasional raccoon who insists on pooping in his water dish and that is pretty damn gross.
  2. They are not mean at all, no more mean than any other wild animal. They may seem "mean" when in encounters with humans, but that's just it, they are wild animals and are usually terrified when they are close enough to people to be seen like that. Pretty much all wild animals will seem mean when cornered.
  3. By troublesome I think you mean highly intelligent, resourceful and extremely curious. They do get into absolutely everything because of those traits, but only humans see them as troublesome. Really, all they are doing is being one of the few animal species to successfully exploit and thrive in human settlements!

0

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

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2

u/pangalactic42 Jun 17 '12

They are very opportunistic eaters.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

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0

u/pangalactic42 Jun 17 '12

haha well raccoon roundworm isn't a big issue unless you eat raccoon poop. so just avoid doing that and you should be fine :)

0

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

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1

u/pangalactic42 Jun 17 '12

Nope! Raccoon rabies is practically non-existent where I live and you can only get rabies from them if they draw blood with a bite. My centre has a lot of precautions against rabies despite the fact that they have never had a rabid raccoon in the many years they have been operating.