OT Maybe..... Raccoons

K

Kunmui

New member
FOr anyone with access to CBC programming, The Nature of Things is
airing a show about raccoons tonight. I have been hearing about it for
while and this morning there was segment about it on CBC radio.It seems
that their population density is about 100 times greater in Toronto than
in the wild and that their behaviour has evolved more in the last
century than it had in the previous 400 centuries.
 
On 2/24/2011 4:54 PM, Dave Smith wrote:

Raccoons are smart critters! The TV show would be a very interesting to
watch (wish I could get it, but doubtful unless it's on the 'web'?).
Wouldn't surprise me if raccoons have become 'urbanized' - as have
squirrels, possums & coyotes seem to be. A raccoon 'infestation' would
be something awful to handle I bet (squirrels are bad enough)! Just
last week or so, there was a very bold possum that canvassed my
snowpacked backyard during the middle of the day (photos available,
even), which surprised me - aren't they nocturnal like raccoons??!!!
That possum was rather quite blind? I took a broom to it to shoo it
away and was within one meter or less of it and that broom wasn't
effective until I started sweeping snow into its face! I couldn't help
but wonder how that possum's hairless feet/paws didn't freeze!

Sky

--

Ultra Ultimate Kitchen Rule - Use the Timer!
Ultimate Kitchen Rule -- Cook's Choice!!
 
In article , [email protected]
says...

Not as easy as you think. First you need to find heavy duty bands and
they are not sold everywhere. The stock bands are not enough to take
down a bird unless you hit them in the head. Then you have to wrap the
shot in a cross of tissue so it goes out before the packet explodes into
a pattern. The amount of time the packet takes to unwrap is determined
by the fold of the packet and unless you know exactly how far your
target is going to be when you draw down, is kind of a crap shoot...
Just sayin' I lived in Boaz Alabama for a while;) We got real good at
hunting slingshots but it's not as easy as it sounds... Squirrels just
snicker at those little wristrockets..
 
On Feb 24, 4:54?pm, Dave Smith wrote:

Thank you for the Heads up! We have a LOT of those cute little
critters here. Many more than I would like, but I try to peacefully
coexist with them, They are very clever and tough, they can take on a
dog and win easily. I keep my animals inthe house.

We had an experience with a teenage raccoon over Christmas, some how
he ran into the garage and was shut in over night./ What a terrible
mess, he ran around and got into everything, he must have been
terrified, when he did not leave the next day, JOhn had to go in and
go through everything till he found the scared little guy inside a
rolled up rug. He returned him to to the wild.

I bet he does not make that same mistaake again.
 
On 2011-02-26, Nad R wrote:


Are you sure about the ospreys?

"....the Osprey's diet consists almost exclusively of fish."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osprey

I don't see a lot of ospreys, despite living right over a trout heavy
major US river. They usually prefer lakeside habitat. Last Spring I
got to see a gorgeous adult osprey snag a large trout from the
Arkansas R and take it up to the flat branch of a 30 ft high dead tree.
Took 40 mins to devour the fish and I could see the sunlight
glistening off the trout's torn flesh. Watched it all with my binocs.

Lordy, I am so saving for a good camera outfit!

nb
 
On 2011-02-26, Nunya Bidnits wrote:


I do, NB. See my other post. I'm becoming quite the birder, of
late. Never seen so many birds. Not to mention birds not seen in my
native CA.

I'm absolutely stunned by the simple beauty of the American Goldfinch.
Didn't know yellow could be so brilliant. The place is lousy with
Bald Eagles. I think I know a nesting spot I can reach.

Crows and a few raptors are the only year round birds, but I saw a few
songbirds the other day. Spring must be around the corner. ;)

nb
 
On 24/02/2011 6:38 PM, Default User wrote:

A friend of mine had a pet raccoon and it was fun, but very mischievous.
Then my neighbour found a baby raccoon and was planning on keeping it.
I told him that he was a pretty good neighbour and a friend, but if he
wanted to stay in my good books he would reconsider the pet raccoon. He
got rid of it.

I see the odd raccoon dead on the road and occasionally spot one running
across roads around here, but I rarely see them around my house. I saw
more of them when I lived in a city
 
On Feb 26, 11:38?am, notbob wrote:

what area of the country are you in ? I'm in the Pac NW and we have
tons of eagles and hawks, etc.
 
On 26/02/2011 2:38 PM, notbob wrote:

I have been seeing birds that I never used to see here in the Niagara
area, like bald eagles, egrets, falcons, swans, blue birds.

I am also keeping an eye out for some of the regulars that I hear have
been around for awhile but who I never saw, like indigo buntings. I
often take my binoculars with me when I walk the dog and sometimes I
take my spotting scope, but that takes time to set up and aim and having
such powerful magnification, it can be hard to find the birds.





Bluebirds are quite beautiful too. The blue is almost irridescent. A
few years ago I was at a friend's place and there was a hummingbird
sitting on a wire in his garage. We sat and watched it for a while
because we knew we would never get a chance like that again.
 
notbob wrote:

The King Fisher is a fun one to watch as they dive in to the back yard pond
and bring up a fish. I live four miles from Lake St. Clair a great Lake.
Ospreys sometimes hang around here perhaps they get tired of eating the
same old thing. Large Predatory Birds that hang around here often: Hawks,
Ospreys and Turkey Vultures.

--
Enjoy Life... Nad R (Garden in zone 5a Michigan)
 
On 2/26/2011 9:55 AM, Nunya Bidnits wrote:

I didn't know starlings weren't native. The one I can't stand are house
sparrows. They definitely aren't native. I get them every year nesting
under the soffet over my front door. They are bad parents and the
babies never survive. They also make a huge mess of my front porch. I
can't seem to find a way to keep them out of there.

I just looked them up, and this article talks about both starlings and
rock pigeons being introduced. Never knew that. This site has an audio
link and it drove my cats crazy. lol

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/House_sparrow/id
 
On 2/24/2011 5:24 PM, Sky wrote:
Our little town has lots of urban critters in it, the woods are several
miles away. Until Hurricane Rita hit us we had plenty of hollow trees.
Haven't seen any coons or possums lately but the gray squirrels are
certainly plentiful. Wild animals like cities and towns, lots of trash
cans to get into, plenty of hiding places, etc. They've been moving in
on us for years.

Possums are pretty much blind and depend on a good sense of smell to get
around. They are probably the most ancient critter in North America and,
if I remember correctly, are the only marsupial animal we have.

The major problems around here are coyotes, feral dogs, and feral cats,
a real PITA. In the nearby countryside feral hogs are a big problem,
tearing up the whole place.
 
"Dave Smith" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...


Sorry, I don't get that channel. But raccoons are all over the place where
I live. I used to have a bird feeder in my back yard hanging from a
shepherd's. I found them climbing the hook to get at the feeder. (They
have opposable thumbs, which is scary.) They tore the bird feeder(s) to
pieces and even took down the shepherd's hook. I woke up one night and
flipped on the lights on the patio. I found FIVE raccoons staring back at
me through the glass. I expect they'll learn to pick locks next. Yikes!

Jill
 
On Feb 24, 5:38?pm, "Default User" wrote:

My son brought a baby home once - had been abandoned by its mother, or
its mother had been run over - the thing was full of fleas, so
consequently, so was his bedding. It's against the law here to have a
racoon as a pet.

N.
 
Though I don't frequently hunt them, raccoons are delicious to eat,
provided you cut out the glands in their arm pits.

I know many who hunt them for their pelts, and those folks who don't eat
them save their meat for me (gracias!). If you live in a rural location
and know some pelt people, offer to take the meat from them. They're
usually happy not ot waste it (which I think is a shame and a sin).
Great source for good meat, and excellent in the NESCO, or braised.




--
Gorio
 
"Nunya Bidnits" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...



A hit lion. "Here's the one. I want it clean. I want it so's it don't traced
back to me."



Brian
--
Day 750 of the "no grouchy usenet posts" project
Current music playing: None.
 
"Nancy2" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...


The trapper guy said that they frequently are infected with canine
distemper. They take the trapped ones to a vet. If they're young he
vaccinates them. Those and uninfected ones are released them into the woods
on his property. The others are euthanized.



Brian
--
Day 750 of the "no grouchy usenet posts" project
Current music playing: None.
 
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