As with any subject in life, some people feel very differently than others about the presence of raccoons near their homes and yards. Emotions surrounding one's view of raccoons likely depends on the kind of experiences they've had with them. I've met a lot of people that feel very negatively about the furry bandits. Perhaps gangs of them would sneak through their garbage at night, and leave them with the job of throwing everything away (for the second time) the next morning? I could see that leaving a negative impression. A small number of people keep North American raccoons as a pet. I would more likely fall in that group, since they kind of remind me of a large cat.My parent's home in Walnut Creek was the last house on their street, with a trail and a creek on the other side of their fence. The trail was dirt when we moved in and my little sister and I would ride our dirt bikes on it, until it was paved in the early 1990's and motorized vehicles were no longer allowed. The creek was a great place to play! A rope swing was the meeting place for neighborhood children for many summers. I also spent countless afternoons with my father crawdad fishing there. We tied bacon to the end of our lines and pulled up the hungry little guys when we saw them grab on. We would sometimes eat our catch (though now I would not recommend eating anything out of the creek). We also ended up with an aquarium of crawdads, and I learned a lot about them and watched them breed and sometimes cannibalize their young! I like to think that the creek crawdads thrived because the local raccoons were being fed elsewhere.
Raccoons tend to live near water. The meaning of their name comes from a combination of words that represent how they use and clean their hands. My parent's have a "pet door" on both doors leading to our backyard for their small dogs. This also allowed our cats to come and go, though they really preferred to be indoors. However, we always kept a dish of dry food and fresh water out on the front deck for them. Often, I found other neighborhood cats coming by for food throughout the day, and I gave them names and made friends. A big orange cat was my favorite! "Peaches" would come inside sometimes but usually wanted out right away. I wondered if my cats made friends with other people, and hoped that they did not. What if they found someone they liked living with more than me? :) Foolish me: Impossible!
After the sun went down, another type of animal came for food and water. The RACCOONS! With easy access under the front deck, they found shelter as well. A family of raccoons made a nightly visit to our home. They cleaned their hands and then set to work eating the bowl of cat food. If the food was empty, they'd rap on the window and pop their heads up to ask for a refill. Year after year baby raccoons would join the family - there were even a few albinos in the group. They used the pet door a couple of times and knew exactly were the inside food dish was. Mom definitely did not approve of this. I also just about had a heart attack once when I walked inside our home and was greeted with a growl. It wasn't a mean growl - the poor little guy was as scared as I was.None of them were very aggressive. A few would take food from your open palm if you held it out. My dad was bit once, but I always escaped with only the soft, gentle movement of their claws attached to their very tactile hands. I talked to them a lot at night. They all had their own personalities. Some were slightly aggressive and fought the others for the first bites of food. One of them lived with what I'm pretty sure was the equivalent of a developmental disability. This sweet little guy would lay on the front deck, sometimes during the day. I found him napping on the front stairs leading to the door from time to time. His tongue was always hanging out and he walked a little funny. Not with a limp like he'd been hit by a car, more like he just leaned awkwardly. I loved them all.
I'll never forget one night when I heard a scream. A horrendously unnatural, hair-raising scream of pain and fear. I don't think I even realized at the time what I was hearing. A big raccoon was attacking one of the little ones. As the little one ran, the big one would chase and knock him down. It was horrible. I ran outside screaming at them to stop but the little one tried to climb away instead. The big one began his climb also. They are actually very fast! I ran inside to get a pot to bang on but as I came back out they were both running off. I hoped the little one hadn't fallen, and that he made it safely away. Some time later the neighbor across the street began trapping the family. Animal control in Contra Costa County receives the most calls for raccoon removal. Where are they supposed to go? My mom told me our neighbor used live traps to relocate them, but these are animals who tend to live close to water sources; like a creek. They like to clean their hands and food. Plus, running water means drinking water. I don't know where raccoons are moved to, but when you're moving one at a time, it would be impossible for families to stay together. Our pack was a family and I imagine without the protection of one another, a bigger raccoon would have no reason to not attack a small one in a wild, open space. I think about my little friend with his tongue hanging out. He probably only survived as long as he did because our creek was safe and there was a lot of shelter and few nearby predators.
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