Category: Uncategorized

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Waiting at the Tire Tunnel

Target and Widey leave the den.

Target enters the tire tunnel as daylight fades to black (and white.)

Widey joins Target in the tunnel.

Target takes a position at the tunnel opening

After waiting about five minutes, Target leads way toward the side of the shed, and Widey follows.

Eight minutes later, the raccoons return (Widey with a leaf in its tail) and they groom on top of the tires.

After a couple minutes, Widey descends and stands alert on the ground.

Three minutes later, Target steals the cat dishes in the garage.

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Widey Daylight Expedition, February 17

Widey leaves the den at 6:13 PM, just a few minutes after sunset.

After being outside for a little more than a minute, Widey considers going back inside, then wanders over and disappears under the other shed.

A couple minutes later, Widey returns to the den.

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Tip Still Attached to Cotton‘s Tail

Three days after fighting with with another raccoon, Cotton still hasn’t lost the top of its tail. I picked the name because, once the last piece falls off, the tail will end with a white band (a Cotton tail.) Widey, who also lost the tip of its tail, ends with a black band.

In these three videos, Cotton returns to the den later in the morning, then leaves (after distantly finding no one home.)

In the rare color videos, you can see the top of Cotton’s tail dangling uselessly as the raccoon walks around.

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Target Steals the Cat Dish, Again, February 17

Target enters the garage.

Pippen, sleeping in the cat bed, looks up as the raccoon approaches.  Target carefully takes the entire cat dish down the stairs and sets it down beside the car.

There must have been some food in the dish (oops) because Target doesn’t leave the garage for another six minutes.

From the way the scene plays out, it appears Target’s main motivation for moving the dish is to get it away from the 15-pound black cat.

 

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Target Steels the Cat Dish, Again

I was in a hurry to leave the house and neglected to removed the cat dish with a bit of food in it.  Five minutes later, Target entered the garage.

On the way up the stairs, Target stopped to eat some food out of a plastic dish.

For some reason, the camera pans back quickly to the left.  Target moves back into the image carefully carrying the entire food dish, including its heavy metal frame.

Of course, it still won’t fit through the cat door.

Unfortunately, the camera by the cat door doesn’t record any video to its SD card.  The next recording comes 12 minutes later, as Target still tries to maneuver the empty dish through the door.

When I returned home a couple hours later, one dish was lying outside on the driveway.

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Loosing Tails

Baby raccoons are unbearably cute.

Sadly, they grow up and start to fight.  I’ve seen one or possibly two raccoons whom I named “Stu,” for its short stubby tail.  At first I thought it must be a birth defect, but apparently they lose their tails in fights with other raccoons.  In the following videos we see two raccoons coming back to the lair with damaged tails.

The first comes across the fence from the field, with a tail suspiciously bent at a right angle.  The damaged portion of the tail seems to dangle lifelessly.  The raccoon considers entering the den, then returns and enters the tunnel of tires.  From here it disappears, possibly returning to the field.

Another raccoon arrives a half hour later.  The black tip of its tail appears to be nearly detached, dangling helplessly.  The raccoon enters the den multiple times, but appears unable to rest.  As it paces outside, the raccoon keeps shaking, as if to free itself of the damaged tip of its tail.

After staying in the end for over an hour, the raccoon comes back outside.

That evening, a raccoon with a short tail climbs the fence.  It starts to step onto the tree that will take it down to the field, then clumsily turns around on top of the fence like it’s having trouble keeping its balance.  After greeting another racoon, it climbs down the tree into the field.  I’m not sure if this is Stu 1, Stu 2, or Stu 3.

The following afternoon, I found tufts of white and black hair scattered across the lawn, not too far from the raccoon den.

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Target Waiting in Tires

Widey tried to steal food from Target in the garage, then both raccoons returned to the den.  Five minutes later, Widey somehow sneaked out of the den and is back in the garage looking for leftovers.

Meanwhile, Target leaves the den.

And goes into a row of tires stacked against the fence.

Target returns the entrance of the tire tunnel . . . and waits.  From this vantage point, Target can watch the windows along the back of our house and for vehicles entering or leaving the garage.  Target is probably waiting for the perfect moment to go check the garage.

Meanwhile, Widey is still in the garage looking for food.

Target watches from the tires while Widey returns to the den.

Target then climbs on top of the tires, perhaps for a better vantage point.

And comes back down again.

Target finally leaves the tires and goes around the side of the shed.

Target enters the garage through the cat door.

And looks for leftovers on the garage stairs, except Widey has probably eaten anything.

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Widey vs Target and Pippen

I often see racoons traveling in pairs, but that doesn’t mean they’re working cooperatively.  Sometimes one raccoon follows another in hopes of getting some of the leftovers.

Widey carefully comes up the garage steps, where Pippen, a 15-pound stray cat who adopted us, is eating a handful of cat food in a metal dish.  Pippen objects to the raccoon’s presence, so Widey hastily retreats.

Widey pauses before exiting the garage, then decides instead to lurk in the shadows.

Widey ventures back up the stairs.  Pippen has finished eating, but is nearby, so Widey retreats again.  Moments later, Target rushes to the top of the stairs and starts eating cat food.  While Target is hogging the food, Widey sneaks up and tries to check an empty dish on the stairs.  Target responds by trying to steal the dish, but instead knocks everything over.  Hearing a loud noise, I come in and remove the dishes.  (Sadly, there’s no sound.  The dishes hit the railing, which was very loud.)

Target returns less than a minute later and starts cleaning up the bit of cat food spilled on the stairs.  Widey looks for any food that spilled onto the garage floor, then climbs through the railing as Target leaves and looks for leftovers on the stairs.

Target returns the neighbor’s shed.

Followed shortly by Widey.

Both racoons return to the den as if they weren’t just fighting over food.

(To Be Continued . . .)