Hi. A couple of days ago in broad daylight a raccoon sauntered straight through the middle of my lawn, BJ roo and hen Annie out free ranging only a few feet from him/her. I ran out and started to follow it but hen Annie followed right on my heels - not good! - so I backed off to grab her and put her in the run. Meanwhile, the raccoon sauntered away and I lost track of it. I called Animal Control, thinking it might be sick (possibly even rabid). As Murphy's Law would have it, it was President's Day and they were closed. Anyway, I received a return phone message today from the Animal Control officer this morning. What she said was interesting and I wanted to take a moment to share it.
She said that 10 years ago, seeing a raccoon in broad daylight would have been rare (they would have probably been sick) but now it happens all the time, and they are not usually sick. She said they have adjusted their habits to dovetail with interesting finds during the day and that they generally could care less about humans being in their midst - they will just do what they want to do when they want to do it. She said she sees them all the time now in the daytime. Anyway, the reason I am writing this post is because I thought my feathered friends were only at risk from dogs and hawks during the daytime (they are always safely tucked in at night) - it's a residential setting, so not much else in the predator department - but apparently I can add raccoons to the list of daytime worries. Just thought you might want to know, in case you free range yours at times as well. Sigh....
JJ
She said that 10 years ago, seeing a raccoon in broad daylight would have been rare (they would have probably been sick) but now it happens all the time, and they are not usually sick. She said they have adjusted their habits to dovetail with interesting finds during the day and that they generally could care less about humans being in their midst - they will just do what they want to do when they want to do it. She said she sees them all the time now in the daytime. Anyway, the reason I am writing this post is because I thought my feathered friends were only at risk from dogs and hawks during the daytime (they are always safely tucked in at night) - it's a residential setting, so not much else in the predator department - but apparently I can add raccoons to the list of daytime worries. Just thought you might want to know, in case you free range yours at times as well. Sigh....
JJ
