Baby raccoons on our patio. I am 4' away taking photos.

[Ron Honner]

Saturday was a surprise for my wifey and me. Three baby raccoons parked in front of our garage door. We opened the gate on the side so they could walk down the sidewalk to the patio.

One baby coon is hiding in the concrete bond beams that we use as steps for our two walkouts. He would not come out for treats or the photo shoot. I didn't want to scare him, so I let him be.

I gave the other two baby coons some white corn chips and some soda crackers as well as some water in the hubcap.

I am sitting on our picnic table, four feet away, speaking quietly to the baby coons as I am taking about 40 photos of them.

At night two mama coons and FIVE babies visited our patio for treats. We think there are six babies in all.

I zoomed the Canon for some closeups:

 

[Cocked & Locked]

Hey Ron...those are some great pics! Looks like you guys will have some entertainment for a while. I guess its hard to tell them apart with those masks on.

 

[s&wchad]

What, no salsa??

Great photos and they sure are cute, but feeding raccoons strikes me as a really bad idea. Don't be surprised if they move into your attic. It's better if they fear people and stay away.

 

[gunlovingirl]

They don't seem too interested in those tortilla chips. Got any dip?

 

[Xfuzz]

Get used to them...you got them now for life or until the snacks dissapear.

 

[GF]

Get used to them...you got them now for life or until the snacks dissapear.

Yep. Or until you decide to make a hat!

 

[BarbC]

I love them! I want one!

 

[Forester]

I hope you don't have close neighbors. We had a lady (thankfully now gone to live with her daughter in WA) who was leaving them dog food on her deck. Yes, they are very cute but they get in to everything. We just couldn't convince her that it was an issue for the rest of the neighborhood.

 

[cshoff]

I hope you don't have close neighbors. We had a lady (thankfully now gone to live with her daughter in WA) who was leaving them dog food on her deck. Yes, they are very cute but they get in to everything. We just couldn't convince her that it was an issue for the rest of the neighborhood.

Not only that, but racoons can be very aggressive and are also a notorious carrier of rabies. I would probably try to remove whatever it is they are liking so much; food, water, shelter, etc.

 

[dkees]

Yes, they are cute. But, when grown, are mean, destroy everything, and spread all kinds of disease. Basically they are on the same level as rats/mice.

 

[M29since14]

Great pics. Wildlife is such a great subject for photography.

I have had my share of problems with these guys. They do like to climb, tear out soffitt, generally make a nuisance of themselves. I suppose most of you would shoot them, but I am too softhearted. I haul them away in live traps if they get to be a problem, but I am told it is hard to relocate these guys. I guess they are very much creatures of habit and of their environment, and they frequently have trouble trying to adapt in a new location and perish. Don't know how true that is, but it's not a happy thought. Anyway, I figure their chances are better that way than with a .22. I am just not into killing critters that I don't have to.

 

[USAF385]

Cute

My girlfriend "adopted" one as a baby a few years back. He was all by himself crying in her yard... so she became his foster mom. He stuck around for a few months and then headed off on his own.

 

[gunsmith11]

I would of been happy to feed them some DECON, I do not need the future pest problems

 

[oldRoger]

We had an "A-Frame" house with 12/12 Cedar Shake Roof. Very much like living inside a drum. The Raccoons snacked at the bird feeders then had races on the roof. They could go anywhere on that roof and the various balconies and decks.
Early morning and late afternoon they would begin to gather. It became very old. If there is a way to keep them out of places you don't want them, I certainly don't know what it is.

One old female became a pest, for several years she was into every thing, she disappeared one day, turns out the neighbor shot her, she was fighting with his dogs over their food.

 

[OHIOUP]

Very cute pests... I've been dealing with this season's crop recently. They dig up all the large potted plants on our deck (their roof), eat all the outdoor cats' food, get into the garage and tear things up... and rabies are in the racoon population in Ohio. I believe we have a state law requiring that if live trapped, they be destroyed rather than released elsewhere. One thing for sure, they are not an endangered species. I am an animal lover but sometimes you have to "fight" for your own space.

 

[will5a1]

OHIOUP - You are correct about the law in Ohio - I made the mistake, a number of years ago, of calling ODNR and asking where I could release raccoons caught in a hav-a-heart trap. The ODNR rep gave me a stern lecture about relocating problem, disease bearing animals and went over the legal penalities to be imposed if caught.

It seems as I see more every year, and they are cute, especially the little ones, but every year I am also seeing more diseased ones, the sick ones walk in circles, have weird gaits, may or may not have open sores, and just don't act like normal coons. My vet and the local game warden tell me distemper is very common in the raccoon population. Early spring is when I see them the most. One of my neighbors does battle with them every summer over the sweet corn in his garden, his corn is a coon magnet, and he is consantly devising counter measures to protect his corn, the most effective still being a shotgun and flashlight.

 

[redlevel]

One of my neighbors does battle with them every summer over the sweet corn in his garden, his corn is a coon magnet, and he is consantly devising counter measures to protect his corn, the most effective still being a shotgun and flashlight.

It is amazing how much damage a half-dozen grown 'coons can do to even a large (several acres) corn patch in just a few nights.

 

[cowboy117]

I live on a creek-racoons,cougars,deer,you name it.Young racoons are cute,but pests-in waiting.

 

[84CJ]

I have them every year The babies are bold the parents a little More timid. They get more shy as that get older and less trustful. The ones that come to my house have never been pests. They mooch for a while and move on I like it that way

Great Pics.

 

[ditrina]

Raccoons are among the top three carriers of rabies.... for your own sake stop encouraging them.. " I know cute and all" but can move very quick... and BITE"