More raccoon stories....

[tenaya]

...or don't encourage me, I'll only write more of this.

A couple of nights ago, I was preparing the courtyard of the nightly party. I was near the bottom of a large bag of kibble, so I just turned it upside down and scattered it about. A trial sized foil packet of a different flavor of food fell out, and I put it on the chair, meaning to bring it inside after I'd finished the chores. Of course I forgot all about it until I looked out and saw two of the babies with their front paws in a water bowl, bouncing up and down on the packet. Okay, I thought; it's now a coon toy. An hour later I got up to see if they needed more of anything, I saw one of the babies tearing through the courtyard making ferocious little growls, the packet clenched in his mouth. The next morning I found the packet shoved in a crack between the concrete stoop and a large block of wood.

Last night, I went to get some grapes out of the fridge and when I came back, one of the babies was wrestling with a skunk! He was half on top of her, his little arms wrapped around her middle and mouthing at her neck. He looked at me, let go of her for a second to see what I was going to do, noticed the big skunk tail next to him and grabbed her again, this time from the back. His face was right up against her butt and his little arms went around her hips and he was trying to throw her over I think. I was 'oh my gawd! You are so going to get sprayed!' but nothing happened. The skunk just kept taking little irritated steps sideways, plaining saying, "do you mind? I'm trying to eat here!" The little guy finally gave up, spronked over to the water tub and bounced on mom, trying to wrestle her for a change. I'm still thinking he was one lucky raccoon.

I promise I'll write something with SG content next. Promise!

Comments

[moonchildetoo.livejournal.com]

Too cuuuuute! So the babies never got the packet open? Will your kitties look on it as the spoils of war, or will you give it to The Gang?

and when I came back, one of the babies was wrestling with a skunk! He was half on top of her, his little arms wrapped around her middle and mouthing at her neck

Sounds more like interspecies romance than wrestling! ;-)

I'm still thinking he was one lucky raccoon.

And since it was your yard, you were also lucky by default!

[tenaya.livejournal.com]

The packet inflated under the hot sun, and never deflated when put in the shade. It wasn't puncture since it was holding pressure, but the only thing that would make it swell up like that would be bacterial contamination. I threw it in the trash and was glad no one had gotten to eat it.

And for the wrestling, I had seen skunks do that move when they were attempting to mate. But since these guys are really just babies still, I doubt the hormones are kicking in. I'm thinking that those wrestling moves are something that will come in handy later. They say all play is mock adult behavior. I'm not sure I'd go that far, but since that little guy bounced over to mom and tried something similar.... He couldn't do it though because she is 2 to 3 times bigger than he was (while the skunk is almost the same size) so he settled on biting her fur and tugging backwards real hard. Very scary raccoon! Too bad Mom barely took notice of him.