Please keep your trash indoors or inside something! Even this yard waste in paper bags was attractive to the Raccoon (Procyon lotor) seen here as it wondered if there were any scrumptious snacks in what is sometimes a human sack of treats. Raccoons can be seen in the day if they are particularly busy looking to feed growing young, but we should never intentionally or unintentionally provide food for mammals at our homes. That is how they become problem individuals, sometimes aggressively looking at the helpful hosts to keep the meals coming. The Raccoon seen here seems healthy in appearance and ran off once it spotted me. That is a good interaction! The other significant problem behind humans feeding mammals is that it provides a way for the sick, injured and old to survive, harming the population while allowing diseases like Rabies to spread between one another and potentially threaten people. Be clean, my friends, and remember that mammals are like not our feathered friends who can dine with us in peace and harmony.
Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
