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  • Home
  • APAL
    • A-PAL History >
      • A-PAL Humane Society Leadership Team
      • APAL Leadership Opportunities
    • APAL Programs >
      • The Rusty Fund >
        • Rusty's Pet Tails
      • Save the Kittens
      • Spay or Neuter
      • Second Chance K9
      • Community Cats >
        • Understanding Feral Cats
        • How to Trap a Feral Cat
      • Special Needs >
        • Special Needs Stories
      • Adopt a Friend
      • Trap-Neuter-Return
      • APAL Tracking Our Progress
    • Support A-PAL >
      • Volunteer for APAL
      • Foster for A-Pal >
        • Foster Forms >
          • Foster Program Protocol
          • Kitten Health Checklist
          • Kitten Growth Chart
          • Guide to Feline URI
      • Donate to A-PAL >
        • Donate your Car
      • A-PAL Wish List
      • A-PAL Facility Sponsor
    • Partners >
      • Shelter Partners >
        • Dec14News-PitBulls
        • Jan15News-Excel
        • Feb15News-BenefitsOfPets
        • Feb15News-HarmfulAlgaeBlooms
        • Mar15News-Hoarding
        • Apr15News-TNR
        • Sep15News-QAMargeB
        • Oct15News-ButteFire
        • Oct15News-Bats
        • Dec15News-Tips4Treats
        • Jan16-Volunteer
        • Apr16-TNR
        • July16News-Center
        • Sep16News-ACART
        • Nov17News-ServiceDogs
  • TCWC
    • Find an animal in need? >
      • Audio Wildlife Tips
      • Contact TCWC
    • TCWC History >
      • TCWC Leadership Team
      • TCWC Leadership Opportunities
    • Wildlife Programs >
      • Education >
        • TCWC Education Events >
          • TCWC Education Animals
        • WildlifeSavesUs
        • Living Wildlife Friendly >
          • To Tree Or Not To Tree
          • Save the Bees
          • Holiday Decorations
          • Kill That Lawn
          • Songbird Concert Tips
          • Holiday Trash
          • Alert Your Birds
          • Water to Help the Critters!
          • Bread is for Sandwiches
          • No Dogs Allowed
          • Repurpose to Feed the Birds
          • GoNative
          • Netting It Out
          • Balloons
          • E-Waste
          • Organic Food
          • AllThatGlitters
          • Fly Strips and Glue Traps
          • Toxic Household Products
          • Recycling Pumpkins
          • Tree Trimming Tips
          • Saving Venomous Species
          • Think Biodegradeable
        • Nuisance Wildlife >
          • Nuisance-SayNoToTrapping
          • Foxlights
          • Wildproof Your Home
        • Gold Country Critters
        • Keep Them Wild and Free
        • TCWC Videos
        • Points to Ponder
      • TCWC-Tracking Our Progress >
        • TCWC 2016 Impact Report
        • TCWC 2017 Impact Report
        • TCWC 2018 Impact Report
        • TCWC 2019 Impact Report
        • TCWC 2020 Impact Report
      • TCWC Patients >
        • Success Stories >
          • 1 - Opossum Call
          • 2 - Raccoon Behind the Grill!
          • 3 - Saving a Raven
          • LongTripHome
          • Anita's Bird Comes Home
          • College the Wild Way
          • Releases
        • TCWC Critter Show
    • Support TCWC >
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  • About
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      • ContentSubmissionForm
    • Critter Chronicles >
      • Watson
      • Don't Fawn!
      • Art - the Cooper's Hawk
      • Mugsy-CommunityCat
      • Trash Kitty!
      • Gretchen&Ginger
      • MajesticBird
      • DuckTherapy
      • MrJunco
      • TheOddCouple
      • The Twins
      • WillToSurvive
      • MeetMandy
      • Furrever - Chloe
      • Charlie the Corgi
    • Kids
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November 2015 - The Raccoon

Picture
Raccoons are part of a small unique group of mammals, along with humans, and monkeys, that have a large number of nerve endings in their hands and a disproportionately large area of their brain devoted to those nerve endings. Wet paws enhance their sense of touch. So though we think they are washing their food, they may be really just trying to get a better feel of it by wetting their paws. Scientists are conflicted on this point with some saying they are washing, and some insist raccoons are using their wet paws to thoroughly examine their food.

That explains why they prefer to be near wet habitat such as streams, rivers, lakes and marshes. But they have discovered that more developed areas around people are great, too. Away from people, a hollow log or abandoned burrow makes a nice den. But near you, a basement, crawl space, attic, and chimney will work in a pinch.

In our cities, rather than eat natural berries and nuts, they scour your garbage, pet food bowls, restaurant discards, and fast food litter for their meals.

In the city without any natural predators save the fast-moving car on the road, they are flourishing. The excess population spreads beyond the city and threatens songbirds, ducks, frogs, geese and more. Dense populations promote the spread of diseases like distemper and rabies.

All of this has meant that raccoons are frequently a nuisance. They dig up your lawn looking for grubs, use your pet bowls to wet their paws, raid your garbage cans and eat the food you put out for your dog. Our website has suggestions for dealing with problem raccoons: http://www.pawspartners.org/nuisance-raccoon.html.

And, here is a simple hint if you have a vegetable garden. If you grow sweet corn, plant squash between the rows of corn. Raccoons do not like to walk on the prickly squash vines and leaves.

They are sometimes a nuisance, but these cute masked critters are an important part of nature’s balance. Both in cities and on farms, they help to control lawn and agricultural pests. Be sure to practice good hygiene around your home to minimize the nuisance and let these raccoons do their job controlling pests.

One last point, these are not pets. Remember when your mother told you never to pick up a bird because it carried germs? Well, that is true for raccoons as well. Raccoons carry some dangerous bacteria that can be transferred to people. So, enjoy your dog or cat as a pet, and let the raccoons live the wild life.


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