View Full Version : Sick raccoon on my porch...
I just came home from nursery-hopping and was putting the plants in the sun, just off the porch. I heard a rustling of leaves beside the porch and it was a fairly large coon. I tried to chase it away with a broom, and it would run a little ways and then fall over. It seems to be laying down in the leaves off the porch. Not a good sign.
Maybe it ate those possibly false morels in my yard??
We'll have to do something with it. :(
Be very careful. Sick or injured wild animals can be very dangerous. Do you have animal control in your area?
A raccoon out in daylight is definitely sick. Call animal control or conservation dept - it may have rabies.
I'm assuming it does have rabies. Its not there now, so I hope it went into the woods to die. I'll definitely be cautious. If I see it again, I'll call the DNR guy.
Thanks.
The Storyteller
5-5-11, 1:59pm
http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Animals/mini-raccoon.gif http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt133/MegaPicklemon/699_smiley_shooting_a_rifle.gif
We'll have to do something with it. :(
If only there were some commonly-available tool handy for dealing with critters like this.
I used to think that was the case:-) I live in downtown Eugene and often see healthy raccoons out in the daylight.
bae.....there is. Its called a shovel. :0!
If only there were some commonly-available tool handy for dealing with critters like this.
This was my first thought as well. A shovel is fine for the aftermath, but in the meantime the animal suffers.
Well hopefully, we won't have to deal with it. I just went out and couldn't see it anywhere. Hopefully nature will take care of it in the woods.
Well hopefully, we won't have to deal with it. I just went out and couldn't see it anywhere. Hopefully nature will take care of it in the woods.
Hopefully before it infects another animal...
I noticed yesterday that there are 'gifts' on my deck steps. So, the live trap is set, complete with puppy chow. When I catch the critter (it could be either a coon or a possum) it'll get shot while in the trap, then taken off into the woods to be buried. Storyteller: I like your pictures.
I noticed yesterday that there are 'gifts' on my deck steps. So, the live trap is set, complete with puppy chow. When I catch the critter (it could be either a coon or a possum) it'll get shot while in the trap, then taken off into the woods to be buried. Storyteller: I like your pictures.
I have a friend who is an all-purpose handyman around here. During the summer-time, he gets frequent calls from some of his summer-people clients to remove a raccoon from their property, but they don't want it hurt or killed, they want it "released somewhere where it can live happily". So, he charges $75 to come out and set the trap. When it catches something, he charges $75 to come out, and pick up the raccoon. Which he then drives across to the other side of the island, and releases in the woods, generally near the home of another of his summer-people clients. Then he sits back and waits for the phone to ring.
He tells me a good portion of his summer income is from running "a taxi service for raccoons". I almost think he has them trained.
The Storyteller
5-5-11, 5:52pm
In most states it is illegal to relocate or even transport live wild animals. Coons are vicious and territorial. To release one in another's territory is inviting a slow and violent death for one of them.
And don't ever let a farmer catch you releasing a coon in his area, especially if he owns chickens or other small prey animals.
I don't much worry about them because of my dogs. The only coons I ever see are dead, and then they are barely recognizable as coons. They tend to be smart enough to stay out of my dogs' territory, but they occasionally get brave, stupid, or hungry.
In most states it is illegal to relocate or even transport live wild animals. Coons are vicious and territorial. To release one in another's territory is inviting a slow and violent death for one of them.
Yup. That's why we just shoot the ones we come across. We have so many that they are active and aggressive during the daytime. Lots of food for them, and no real predators.
Last year, while playing in my heavily wooded backyard with the grandkids, we discovered a sick raccoon in the brush. It looked terrible and appeared to be blind. My first thought was to put it out of it's misery although I didn't want to do it while the boys were there.
The next morning I found it dead underneath my deck. I'm thinking I should have spared it some of it's pain rather than wait.
CathyA, I'm wondering if it mightn't be poisoned. That sounds more likely than rabies. Either way, if you see it again you'll probably be doing it a favor to end its life, like Alan pointed out.
The mountain lions keep them under control here - the rest are pretty shy and nocturnal (the way they're supposed to be)
Turns out my critter was a possum. It's now trapped, shot, buried in the woods. Trap is cleaned and stored, awaiting the next time it's needed, which is fairly common.
Turns out my critter was a possum. It's now trapped, shot, buried in the woods. Trap is cleaned and stored, awaiting the next time it's needed, which is fairly common.
Possums, now that's something I can relate to. They are all over our neighborhood. It's a rare evening when I am out that I don't see one of them waddling across the street.
My dog Lena--who recently died--caught and killed two possums. Possums frequent our backyard. Seems as though our backyard is their main traffic corridor.
The possums are bigger than my little dogs. So sorry about Lena, 'possum killer.
I think possums are sad little creatures. Everyone hates them and thinks they're ugly. What a sad, solitary life they have.
I have a healthy fear of possums. About 20 years ago, two made a nest in my garden shed. When I accidentally happened upon them, one tried to attack me which resulted in me leaping up on a step ladder while it hissed and tried to bite me from it's position between me and the door. One good look at it's face while it snarled and bared it's needle like teeth at me, all the while trying to climb the ladder to get to me, relieved me of any notion that they are anything less than vicious little creatures.
I understand that they are dangerous, both due to teeth and claws, but also because of the diseases they carry. Still, I think they are cute in their own sort of way.
Why did the chicken cross the road?
To prove to the possum that it could be done.
In Texas, chickens cross the road to show the armadillos it can be done.
The Storyteller
5-8-11, 7:20pm
One good look at it's face while it snarled and bared it's needle like teeth at me, all the while trying to climb the ladder to get to me, relieved me of any notion that they are anything less than vicious little creatures.
And chicken killers, to boot.
My dogs are mostly a deterrent so I don't have to kill such creatures, but possums are pretty stupid and tend to go against them anyway. There have been weeks when there were four or five dead possums near my chicken yard.
I think possums are sad little creatures. Everyone hates them and thinks they're ugly. What a sad, solitary life they have.
You remind me of my daughter in law who loves snails. Poor, unloved, misunderstood creatures! She puts them in her pocket and transports them to another location so I won't smash them. The unloved creatures need friends too!
My grandmother used to trap possums, and feed them corn for a bit...
And after that, possum pot pie, possum stew, fried possum, and all sorts of other good things.
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