Raccoon behavior (house, university, living in)

[Ninasimonejr]

Recently hubby and I were awakened early in the morning by our dog yapping and an animal outdoors screaming and screaming. I ran outside in my PJs, thinking one of the stray cats I feed was in trouble. The sound was coming from a small tree in whose branches a neighbor and I finally spied a raccoon. When we got up to the tree, the screaming stopped. We shook the tree a little and a huge raccoon slunk away.

Anybody have any idea what this unholy racket was? It seems like a shaky young tree would be a hard place for a raccoon to have a fight with another animal. Did it eat a squirrel? (There was no blood or fur flying as far as I could see.) Do raccoons climb trees and scream?

This is Weehawken - only 12 minutes from Manhattan and considered "urban" by posters here, but we're at the edge of a Palisade and the fauna are lively. What next, a bear?

[Gerania]

"A raccoon makes a variety of sounds, including barks, hisses, a wailing tremolo, a churr-churr noise often given while the animal is feeding, and a piercing scream of alarm or fear."

Pennsylvania Game Commission - State Wildlife Management Agency: Raccoon

It seems that they also have a mating scream. I just learned that.

Tamara's Blog: Have You Ever Heard a Raccoon Scream?

I couldn'd find a good audio file.

[Robhu]

The food you put out for the stray cats are probably attracting the coons also.
They will go to wherever there is something to eat even if it isn't meant for them.
Maybe a cat and a coon got in a fuss over the food outside.
Just because you only seen one animal in the tree doesn't mean another one wasn't or hadn't been up there.
Yes, coons can climb trees. Especially if a good coon dog is chasing them.
Or a mean pissed off cat.
Cats and coons can both make noises that make you think the world is coming to an end even without doing physical battle. Their verbal fights can sound like one or the other is getting killed.
If you are putting out food for stray cats, you can be assured if there are any coons around, they will come to visit.
Living in a metropolitan area doesn't make any difference. If there is food or water in the vicinity, the coons will seek it out. Especially at night. Just because you don't see them in the daytime doesn't mean they aren't around.
They can be anywhere there is a food source.
Some people get them as pets. Then when they get to be too much bother they turn them loose to make it on their own. There are probably more raccoons in city areas than you realize.

[timneh5]

Originally Posted by Ninasimonejr

Recently hubby and I were awakened early in the morning by our dog yapping and an animal outdoors screaming and screaming. I ran outside in my PJs, thinking one of the stray cats I feed was in trouble. The sound was coming from a small tree in whose branches a neighbor and I finally spied a raccoon. When we got up to the tree, the screaming stopped. We shook the tree a little and a huge raccoon slunk away.

Anybody have any idea what this unholy racket was? It seems like a shaky young tree would be a hard place for a raccoon to have a fight with another animal. Did it eat a squirrel? (There was no blood or fur flying as far as I could see.) Do raccoons climb trees and scream?

This is Weehawken - only 12 minutes from Manhattan and considered "urban" by posters here, but we're at the edge of a Palisade and the fauna are lively. What next, a bear?

The dog could have made the raccoon scream, especially if the raccoon was young. (A "huge" raccoon can stand and drink from a bird bath.) I've never heard of raccoons eating squirrels! (maybe a tiny, tiny baby squirrel laying on the ground)

Stop leaving ANY food out for the cat(s) at night. You're inviting more than raccoons to dinner. (It will take awhile for the raccoons to stop checking for food.)

[SunChaserWildlife]

These days our comprehension of animals rarely extends beyond domestic pets and livestock, but a little knowledge can go a long way toward learning to live in harmony with our urban wild neighbors – even the pesky or seemingly scary ones! As urban growth sprawls humans and wild animals must learn to share one habitat, and we will increasingly be encountering each other. Both are now dependant on the “superior” species (you!) to achieve critical, harmonious coexistence.

[SunChaserWildlife]

This is a little long, but is an article on the Raccoon. Wikipedia also has a good page on this animal. If you have any specific questions about wildlife issues feel free to email me.

Most folks in the US have encountered the adaptable raccoon. Coexisting with these intelligent, opportunistic creatures is not so exasperating once you understand them.
The raccoon is easily identified with its black mask and ringed tail, which is relatively short for its body size and has 5-7 black rings. Various colors occasionally exist among the species, including the rare albino, black, red, silver and even a light cinnamon color. The scientific name is Procyon lotor, which is loosely translated from various Native American Indian tribes as he who washes with hands. The raccoons tactile ‘hands’ are extremely sensitive and are even more so when in water; by dousing their food they can detect the tiniest particle of sand on a morsel. It is folklore that they lack saliva; mainly they do this because they are unique and can!
Raccoons are medium sized mammals and are not in the rodent family. They are loosely related to the red panda bear and can be found almost anywhere there is water and food. Like the black bear, the raccoon is opportunistic and insatiably curious. While raccoons help control populations of rodents, reptiles, insects, snakes and occasionally birds and eggs, raccoons are omnivores as berries, fruits and vegetables are equally a part of their diet. Raccoons also eat poison ivy berries, controlling the spread of this noxious plant! It is said that they will eat an entire wasp nest, and I have firsthand witnessed a raccoon killing a rattlesnake. Coyotes and birds of prey are the raccoon’s most common natural predators.
Possession requires extreme dedication as raising a raccoon is an immense challenge. To meet one is to be indelibly charmed into appreciating our wild neighbors. In Japan, following the release of Disney’s movie “Rascal”, thousands of pet raccoons were imported. The story was written by literary giant Sterling North, when he was eleven years old and is a true story about his pet raccoon. He received tremendous feedback from around the globe of others’ raccoon experiences and was inspired to write “Raccoons are the Brightest People” in his later years (1966). North believed the raccoon was evolving and even suggested it was displaying indication of self-domestication. Nonetheless, while a few do succeed in taming one of these little clowns, most do not and the result can be tragic and heartbreaking.
If you find yourself outwitted by a raccoon, rest assured that their astuteness is not your imagination! Don’t take it personally; the raccoon’s intelligence is second only to higher primates, per a study done at Purdue University. Studies have shown that raccoons are able to remember the solution to tasks several years later. Curiosity is also an indicator of intelligence. Although exceptional climbers, very clever, and gifted with an excellent sense of smell, the raccoons life span in the wild rarely exceeds two to four years due to humans lack of tolerance, hunting, trapping, dogs, and automobiles. Myths of disease surround the raccoon, but disease is by far not the threat that humans (and such myths) are to this maligned animal.
Our ancestors had far greater appreciation of this animal; in fact President Coolidge had a pet raccoon that he doted on daily! Present day media, misleading statistics, and legal restrictions put upon animals and the public has allowed overstated risks and myths to alter our perception.
For most people, our lack of knowledge about wild animals and our need to coexist with them would benefit with some perspective on the data fed to us today. Fifty people a year die from red ant bites, yet human rabies deaths are nearly zero a year in the US, and cases include being bit by a rabid dog while visiting a foreign country. Rabies in wild animals can only be determined by sending its brain to a lab for testing. Hundreds of thousands of brains are submitted; relatively few return a positive result. Yet each year 40,000 people receive post-exposure “just in case” rabies shots which can skew statistics. Testing is an annual $300 million cost for the US, but it is our vaccine prevention methods that are most effective. Rabies vaccination in captive and wild animals such as raccoons has been proven effective, but has yet to be “approved” by Government beyond the oral bait use. See the math here?
Raccoons, skunks, bats, foxes, and coyotes are called RVS species, or rabies vector species, meaning they are susceptible to this disease as they are not vaccinated. They do not, however, “carry rabies” like it was lurking in their pocket and they can whip it out at whim. Like humans (or any unvaccinated mammal and some rodents) they must first be infected by the saliva or bite from an actual infected animal that is in the contagious phase of the disease. Rabies is not airborne. Per the Center for Disease Control, a rabid animal is contagious when the disease has affected the brain – in which case an animal will then appear VERY ill. One of the most common misconceptions is that observing a raccoon out during daylight hours dictates the animal is ill. No one has ever told nocturnal animals that they are never to venture out during the day – and they do not read! In reality it is common for mother raccoons and youngsters to be out during the day. In areas with little threat of danger, raccoons are often seen during the daytime. A sick animal will visibly act sick – not just visible! Raccoons do pant when overheated, and they can sweat. Distemper disease is often mistaken for rabies in raccoons. Prevention assistance for distemper in wild animals is, again, to vaccinate all our cats and dogs.
There are several specie variants of rabies, such as bat, skunk, cat…of which can affect any other mammal that is not vaccinated. Rabies vaccine oral bait drop programs have been used in affected areas thru the US with tremendous success. Even in epidemic areas less than 5% of the affected species will likely become infected. But rabies is a potentially fatal health concern and the reason for so much hype is to encourage preventive measures as vaccinating our pets and not handling wildlife. If you witness an injured or possibly orphaned animal you can find a list of rehabilitators on the Division of Wildlife website. If you care, leave it there until you speak with a rehabilitator. They are volunteers of the state trained to assist wildlife and will give you the best advice possible. Raccoons are great mothers but like many wild moms, they refuse to pay a babysitter. Rarely will they abandon their young unless they have been killed.
In addition to the fear-based education we receive about disease are the parasite concerns. Wild raccoons are immune to it but do sometimes carry what is malignly called “raccoon roundworm”, or Baylisascaris procyonis. In reality, over 90 species of both wild and domestic animals can host this roundworm, along with more common roundworms. Keeping pets dewormed is as common sense as not eating poop, which can be a concern for small children. An adult must ingest or inhale very large quantities of larvae eggs to become infected. To date less than 30 cases have ever been recorded in humans, and for perspective, dog roundworms blind 500 children a year.
If you desire to dissuade wildlife from your property, the raccoon may give you a challenge. Ammonia soaked rags or ground red pepper near entrances will help, later sealing the entry. Be sure to give a mother time to remove her babies lest you trap them in and cause yourself a worse mess. In time, when the babies are older, they will all move out anyway. Obviously, figuring out how to secure pet food and trash cans is your best bet – and challenge. A simple bungee cord is no match for the wise and dexterous raccoon!
Generations before us certainly managed to coexist with wildlife, and they survived all the risks and fears that are often over-sensationalized today. They also understood that killing or otherwise removing a wild animal merely left a vacancy sign for the next one to move in. Let us not forget that we have encroached on all these amazing animals that have but one goal – to survive (not to hurt us). Those who work with wild animals will tell you – they have never met an aggressive animal, only a scared one. Be kind, be humane. Your world will thank you.

[Kracer]

While you were standing at the base of the tree a raccoon climbed back down and 'slunk away'?

A coon would fly down that tree and run as fast as it could. I would imagine if a coon came down the small tree with you standing at the base you would reflexively run away.

Perhaps you want to describe the incident and the animal to confirm you saw a raccoon as opposed to an oppossum?

My raccoon would make a whining gutteral sound if some stranger or dog came in the yard. They have quite a vocal range.

what kind of tree did he climb? did iy have any fruit on it?

Raccoons often duck into sewer drains in housing developments after raiding food set aside outside for dogs and cats. they know the best places and go there with regularity. Will go into homes through pet doors. Sometimes a couple of families will show up as a mob where people give handouts to the cute little critters. I've seen folks have a dozen or more show up for an evening feeding. That is a situation that should be discouraged for safety and health reasons.

[BPerone201]

I just saw a raccoon for like the 2nd time in my life that was actually alive crossing the street yesterday.
It must of been the abnormal 37 degree sleet night in the middle of October that got them searching for shelter.

[njkate]

Originally Posted by Kracer

While you were standing at the base of the tree a raccoon climbed back down and 'slunk away'?

A coon would fly down that tree and run as fast as it could. I would imagine if a coon came down the small tree with you standing at the base you would reflexively run away.

Perhaps you want to describe the incident and the animal to confirm you saw a raccoon as opposed to an oppossum?

My raccoon would make a whining gutteral sound if some stranger or dog came in the yard. They have quite a vocal range.

what kind of tree did he climb? did iy have any fruit on it?

Raccoons often duck into sewer drains in housing developments after raiding food set aside outside for dogs and cats. they know the best places and go there with regularity. Will go into homes through pet doors. Sometimes a couple of families will show up as a mob where people give handouts to the cute little critters. I've seen folks have a dozen or more show up for an evening feeding. That is a situation that should be discouraged for safety and health reasons.

AWWWWWWWWWW is his name Rocky ...lol
we have plenty but I do not leave pet food out and have locking lid garbage cans so as not to encourage them to take up permanent residence in my yard....the ones I see are just passing through....

They are nocturnal creatures..if you see one during the day chances are very good it's a sick racoon

[VeradoDan]

I wouldn't want to tangle with a raccoon. They're often rabid, and from what I hear, rabies shots are quite painful. Also, if the raccoon gets into it with your dog, he'll claw at the dog's stomach and could give a nasty (and depending on the size of the dog) fatal wound.

For the record, our neighbor used to be really into clamming and crabbing and one night returned from the marina with a ton of clams. He decided to cook them on his BBQ. After going inside the house for a few minutes and returning outside, he found raccoons sticking their hands in the boiling water and picking out the clams. These things will eat ANYTHING!