I raised 2 baby racoons years ago. Found them with their dead mother in the middle of the highway. Brought them home and raised them on a bottle. One was a male and the other was a female. They loved people for a while. You could turn them out in the yard and they would run and play. When they got tired they would run up your leg and sit one on each shoulder.
As they got older the male got aggressive. He would bite you for no reason. The bigger he got the more aggressive he was. Gave his to a guy that kept him for several years.
I gave the femal to a lady that I met at
Walmart. She always wanted a raccoon. She build a huge pin for it. It was a large out building and she made a fenced in outside area for her. She put logs and balls and all kinds of stuff for her to play with. Not sure how old that coon lived to be but she eventually died of old age.
Now I was supposed to have a permit but didn't.
I also met a guy down at Tuckertown dam while I was fishing. He had a 5 gallon bucket and he was netting shad and filling up the bucket. I figured he was going to use them to catfish. I asked where he was going catfishing and he said I am not going fishing. I am catching cat food. I said you must have a bunch of cats. He said nope, just two. I said are you going to freeze the shad and feed them a little at a time. He said no, I have 2 large cats and they will eat these in a week. Then he asked if I wanted to see them. I said sure.
We walked up to his truck and as I got closer I saw 2 BIG cat heads sticking over the dash waiting for his return. I said what kind of cats are those?? He said bobcats. He raised them from kittens when their mother was killed. They were just like house cats. He opened the door and here they came. They did act like house cats. He said the male could be aggressive toward other animals at times but he stayed outside in a lot but the female was as gentle as a kitten and stayed in the house. They played with his dog and other house cats. They were part of the family.
We talked for an hour while the cats ate shad and played in the grass field in front of us. Several people stopped and took pictures. It was the coolest thing I have ever seen.
Also, we were going to a bow shop years ago in the small community of New Hope, NC. We passed the New Hope store and my buddy said there is a huge buck in the parking lot of that store. I said no way. We turned around and went back. No deer. He swore he say it. I went in the store and asked if they saw the buck in the parking lot. He said of course. Just as he said of course here comes this buck walking thru the store toward me. I was speachless. It was in velvet and came up to me wanting a snack. Teh store clerk said he likes crackers. I bought a pack of crackers and fed him. They kept flea powder on him and he lived in the house except during the rutting season. He stayed around for a long time.
The last I heard about the deer was that the store owner gave the deer to Dale Earnhardt. He came from his farm and loaded it on a horse trailer and took it to his farm to live out his days. The reason he had to go was; there is a ballfield adjoining the store. The guy owns both the store and the ballfield. A guy was watching a game eating a hotdog. The deer comes up to the guy and takes a bite of his hotdog. The guy gets ticked and punches the deer in the head. The deer stands up on his hind legs and proceeds to flail the man with his front feet.
The man was going to sue unless they got rid of the deer. So they gave the deer to Earnhardt. I am sure the deer is long since passed now.
Darin
