Per the AP:
Feed them and they will come
Sheriff’s deputies in Washington’s Kitsap County frequently get calls about animals — loose livestock, problem dogs. But the 911 call they received recently from a woman being hounded by dozens of raccoons swarming her home near Poulsbo stood out.
The woman reported having had to flee her property after 50 to 100 raccoons descended upon it and were acting aggressively, said Kevin McCarty, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office. She told deputies she started feeding a family of raccoons decades ago and it was fine until about six weeks earlier, when the number showing up went from a handful to around 100.
“She said those raccoons were becoming increasingly more aggressive, demanding food, that they would hound her day and night — scratching at the outside of her home, at the door. If she pulled up her car, they would surround the car, scratch at the car, surround her if she went from her front door to her car or went outside at all,” McCarty said. “They saw this as a food source now, so they kept coming back to it and they kept expecting food.”
So what have we learned boys and girls?
Maybe...
Toyman! said:
So what have we learned boys and girls?
Maybe...
Once you start feeding a group they tell all their friends and they attack you because you can't afford to feed them all?
jharry3 said:
Toyman! said:
So what have we learned boys and girls?
Maybe...
Once you start feeding a group they tell all their friends and they attack you because you can't afford to feed them all?
Why didn't anyone tell me Atlas Shrugged was about raccoons?
I've heard of a local who feeds the rats. Someone should toss a couple of them in her car and see how it goes....
We have hummingbird feeders that my wife maintains.. They can get pretty mouthy chirtling at us if the feeders run low.. Glad we haven't fed anything bigger!
Sounds like a random event out of Rimworld. :)
When my father-in-law was on the town council he got a call from a woman who wanted to know what he was going to do about all the stray cats around her house. She kept feeding them but they wouldn't go away.
Kitsap county? Does not surprise me at all...
In reply to APEowner :
A lady down the street used to call and complain that our cat, Jack, was hanging out at her house and she constantly had to feed it.
She was flabbergasted when I suggested that if she would stop feeding him canned cat food and tuna he wouldn't go hungry, he'd go home.
Lady if you are serving a 5-star meal and I'm serving diner food, where do you think he's going to eat?
In reply to Toyman! :
It's not the same thing at all but that reminds me of when we once tried to put one of our cats on a diet and he went down the street and moved in with one of the neighbors...
Coming soon to a theater near you. Oh the horror.
A guy I used to work with told me about the Toronto Raccoon Lady. There's a woman who has turned her backyard into a raccoon resort, including a kids' pool she uses to give them raccoon baths. The house has a detached garage in the backyard that everyone in the neighborhood suspects has become a raccoon hibernaculum.
Raccoons are cute, in cartoons. If they decide to live in your house, it's time for firearms. They are destructive well out of proportion to their size.
Streetwiseguy said:
Raccoons are cute, in cartoons. If they decide to live in your house, it's time for firearms. They are destructive well out of proportion to their size.
Truth. Once they invade, it's all-out warfare. However, the key is to try to avoid situations like this. You can't blame the raccoons for taking advantage of fools who feed them.
In reply to J.A. Ackley :
Trash Pandas gonna Trash Panda.
Raccoons and coyotes in particular are consummate survival experts. They really don't need the help.
We had a raccoon situation late last night–lots of raccoon screaming and shrieking.
I opened the back door to see what was up and found one hanging onto a tree. It gave me the “nothing to see here” look, so I let it go its way.
Reminds me of when a friend live-trapped a raccoon that was getting into his house. Before removing it, he took a couple pics and, at my urging, posted them to the Nextdoor app with a title of "Found a lost dog."
Hilarity ensued. People were losing their minds. Tyler kept it up for a while, insisting it was a Scottie or pug or something ridiculous. Pure comedy gold.
