my raccoon is here for the second time today during daylight hours.
my rehabber friend says she's got kits in a den somewhere or she wouldn't be foraging during daylight.
@holon42 Cool. You taught me something new. I always heard if they were out in daylight, it's usually a symptom of rabies.
This was my tent about 6 or 7 years ago. Had to destroy two of these a few weeks later after one tore a huge gash in the back, rather than use the door. I suspected at the time at least one was rabid. Didn't see another raccoon for 6 months.
that's too bad😥
they do get destructive when they're hungry. they're good at dismantling bird feeders, so i take mine in at night.
this raccoon hasn't gone after them even when they're up during the day, maybe because i put out cat kibble in exchange 🤣
@holon42 Given a choice, they'll take the easier, more nutritious meal.
Possums also eat sunflower seed. They chew it into little pellets and spit it back out. I'm not sure how much nutrition they get out of it that way, but it makes them happy.
@holon42 I've learned a little bit since that last raccoon. Last winter, two raccoons were raiding my tent for a stash of large acorns I'd picked up for my local squirrels. Both were trapped in quick succession. The first seemed healthy, so, at the behest of my fellow CoSoNauts, I relocated it to another patch of woods two miles down the road. The second was drooling and snarling, so I could not release it safely.
yes, that one sounded sick 😓
better to euthanize it, so it doesn't spread whatever. it's hard to see them suffer.
yes, the raccoons around here eat the sunflower seeds and peanuts i scatter for the squirrels and birds.
as well as the grubs and other insects that grow in the mulch. robins find them too, a buffet.
she took a short nap beside the bird bath, then lay in it for awhile to cool off.
now she's foraging for insects and sunflower seeds missed by the squirrels.