racoons in the hood

smokin joe

so i'm sitting at my desk and hear a kind of squawking outside, more like a bird being attacked than a catfight, but it kept going on. (this is monday night, just after midnight.) so i turned off the lights and sneaked up to the window to see if i could see anything and there in the backyard, about five feet from the window, were two huge, fat raccoons. one was sitting atop a fence and the other was on the ground. every now and then the one on the ground would come up to the one on the fence and attack, kind of cat-like, reaching up with its paws, baring its teeth, squawking and trying to claw the other one, who did the same.

i had no idea we had raccoons around here. i'm not surprised, being close to the park, but i can't figure out how they got in the backyard, which is, i think, in a block completely enclosed by buildings (on park, underhill, sterling and washington).

anyone else seen them? wonder how they get along with the cats and dogs.

paraderest

And here I was expecting the next Don Imus debate...

emily

Um, yeah, you should probably be more specific in your subject heading. Here I thought I was going to find some insane trollery.

karl the druid

affirmative, pupae are are very sensitive about their cocoons.

do not laugh at a moth's baby becuase it is different from yours.

shishkab

Subject: Re: coons in the hood

Smokin' Joe wrote: wonder how they get along with the cats and dogs.

they don't.

idlewild

At least he didn't make fun of their fur.

They can get in through the garbage alleys of big apartment buildings. One example is the row of buildings on Eastern Parkway between Plaza and Underhill. Look where the garbage cans are between the apartment buildings and you'll see what I mean.

smokin joe

Emily wrote: Um, yeah, you should probably be more specific in your subject heading. Here I thought I was going to find some insane trollery.

subject line edited to avoid confusion.

smokin joe

Subject: Re: coons in the hood

shishkab wrote: [quote=Smokin' Joe]wonder how they get along with the cats and dogs.

they don't.

that much i knew. and although they looked healthy--really fat and sleek--they could well be rabid. yet another reason for those of you with pets to keep them inside, and. . . need i say . . . LOCK YOU DOORS!

marsstars

We had one inside our building a few weeks back. It was just roaming the halls one night. Someone actually called the cops (and yes, they actually came to take care of it). A few nights later I woke to my housemate's cat hissing and spitting at something outside on the fire escape - I drew back the curtain and came face to face with one of the not-so-little buggers.

Where the heck are they coming from anyhow? And where are they living?

dakotas way

Raccoons are very wily and extremely smart. I had one on a farm a long time ago that had been abandoned by it's mother. He was my favorite pet of all, but that was under unusual circumstances and I was an animal trainer and had worked with him since a little baby. Great creatures but can be very dangerous if cornored. If wild, they should not come in contact with your cat or dog, as if your animal approaches it to check it out and accidentally cornors it, there will be a terrible fight and I'm going to say that the domesticated animal won't fare well at all.
You can tell a rabid raccoon (which I've also captured and had to have removed) by the dull coat, body looking starved and the one I ran into was acting as though it was blind (and most likely was in the last stages of rabeis.) It was extremely dangerous, so if you see the above symptoms, do not appoach it at all, but call animal control. At that stage they are beyond unstable and terrified.
They can get into anything, anywhere with their paws that are like human hands.
They're cute....but don't approach them. By the same token, if they're not hurting anyone, don't bother them or be too frightened. They deserve to live somewhere too.

lostingreenwoodhts

I won't merge this topic, but this discussion has been going on for a while in an older thread http://brooklynian.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=30896&highlight=racoons

izisharp

Subject: Re: racoons in the hood

Smokin' Joe wrote: i had no idea we had raccoons around here.

anyone else seen them?

Yep.. i saw a big-ass one run from the sidewalk into someone's front porch a few weeks ago at about 7pm. Was on Sterling between Underhill and Washington. I was so surprised, but found it sort of comforting....reminded me of when i was a kid, having deer, racoons, possums and shit in the back yard regularly. Racoons ain't leaving due to gentrification or increased rents, and that's the way it should be.

smokin joe

lostingreenwoodhts wrote: I won't merge this topic, but this discussion has been going on for a while in an older thread http://brooklynian.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=30896&highlight=racoons

hadn't seen this. thanks for pointing it out. so we have company. raccoons in the slope too. funny, i've lived in ph for 13 years and had never seen one until just now.

a few good points from the ps thread:

1. don't bother them and they won't bother you.

2. don't leave food out (or, if you insist on feeding the feral cats, bring the food in at dusk).

3. keep your pets inside. some animals do carry rabies (although the raccoons i saw looked quite healthy); they can easily get the better of a cat and while they may not prevail against a large dog they can still infect it.

i think that fairly summarizes the gist of the other thread.