Can a raccoon climb out of a large, empty Dumpster? (survive, dog)

[weltschmerz]

Yup, boards still in place (I pushed them in), Dumpster not emptied, no raccoons in there. Actually I thought it would be really funny if the paper bag of food I'd dropped in there attracted more raccoons and I peeked in this morning to find, like, a dozen of them in the Dumpster.

Yay! Good for you! Well done!

[brokencrayola]

I have been following this thread and I am so glad you helped the raccoon and that it was able to get out of the dumpster. Usually there is enough garbage in dumpsters that the animals can climb on top of it and get out. In this case there was not enough so it could escape. I am happy it didn't just die in there.

[J'aimeDesVilles]

Originally Posted by chiroptera

Success!
Dumpster devoid of raccoons now.

[Dallas Kitty]

Originally Posted by chiroptera

Thanks all for the encouraging comments.

Yup, boards still in place (I pushed them in), Dumpster not emptied, no raccoons in there. Actually I thought it would be really funny if the paper bag of food I'd dropped in there attracted more raccoons and I peeked in this morning to find, like, a dozen of them in the Dumpster.

I've already sent a rep but I'll hop in here to say thanks for all the good things you do to help our animal friends!

[BlackShoe]

Originally Posted by chronic65

I am pretty sure a raccoon would get out very easily.

Pretty much agree with this. Have been following this thread and have been puzzled about the stuck raccoon. A raccoon is a predator, and one that is a very agile climber. A 5 foot leap should be a piece of cake for any predator. A bobcat would do it effortlessly, a domestic cat easily, a coyote could do it, and even a fox would make it.

[Idlewile]

Well done! Great end to this story!

[J5K5LY]

I was afraid to read this thread. I am so glad I clicked to the last page and saw a happy ending! Now I can read the whole thing!

[chiroptera]

Originally Posted by BlackShoe

Pretty much agree with this. Have been following this thread and have been puzzled about the stuck raccoon. A raccoon is a predator, and one that is a very agile climber. A 5 foot leap should be a piece of cake for any predator. A bobcat would do it effortlessly, a domestic cat easily, a coyote could do it, and even a fox would make it.

Initially I thought that might be the case but I wasn't sure, hence my starting this thread.

According to everyone I talked to (a friend who was a licensed wildlife rehabber, someone from county Animal Control, someone with the wildlife division at the DNR, as well as respondents here and stuff I read online) raccoons are excellent climbers, as most of us know. But lousy jumpers. Especially when it comes to jumping out of a deep Dumpster with smooth sides and lids designed to stay closed.

Actually raccoons are opportunistic predators and classified as omnivores. So you really can't compare them to cats (obligate carnivores and apex predators), bobcats (ditto) and coyotes (again, ditto.)

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by chiroptera

Initially I thought that might be the case but I wasn't sure, hence my starting this thread.

According to everyone I talked to (a friend who was a licensed wildlife rehabber, someone from county Animal Control, someone with the wildlife division at the DNR, as well as respondents here and stuff I read online) raccoons are excellent climbers, as most of us know. But lousy jumpers. Especially when it comes to jumping out of a deep Dumpster with smooth sides and lids designed to stay closed.

Actually raccoons are opportunistic predators and classified as omnivores. So you really can't compare them to cats (obligate carnivores and apex predators), bobcats (ditto) and coyotes (again, ditto.)

My wife and I spent many hours watching raccoons (as you saw form my wife's blog). We never saw a raccoon jump (more than a short distance). They are very careful getting down. Their claws do allow them to climb very proficiently. It is more likely that your dumpster raccoon slipped into the dumpster while checking it out.

Two times, in my 66 years, I have had to destroy raccoons that looked rabid. Both were out in the middle of the daytime and were aggressive. One came after me while I was duck hunting – bad move for the raccoon. The other was a baby raccoon that was by my pond. It could have fallen out of a tree or had distemper (more likely than rabies)? I had called our Game Commission about the baby raccoon – thinking they would come out, take it and test it for rabies. They asked me if I could kill it, pour Clorox over it, bag it and dispose of it. While I did the deed; I had always thought of our GC as the protectors of wildlife and us.

We have enjoyed watching raccoons – but we never made contact with them. We never wanted to take the chance of a scratch or bite. We know that people do raise them. But, the last I heard, the rabbis shot was about $1200.

[chiroptera]

Originally Posted by fisheye

My wife and I spent many hours watching raccoons (as you saw form my wife's blog). We never saw a raccoon jump (more than a short distance). They are very careful getting down. Their claws do allow them to climb very proficiently. It is more likely that your dumpster raccoon slipped into the dumpster while checking it out.

Two times, in my 66 years, I have had to destroy raccoons that looked rabid. Both were out in the middle of the daytime and were aggressive. One came after me while I was duck hunting – bad move for the raccoon. The other was a baby raccoon that was by my pond. It could have fallen out of a tree or had distemper (more likely than rabies)? I had called our Game Commission about the baby raccoon – thinking they would come out, take it and test it for rabies. They asked me if I could kill it, pour Clorox over it, bag it and dispose of it. While I did the deed; I had always thought of our GC as the protectors of wildlife and us.

We have enjoyed watching raccoons – but we never made contact with them. We never wanted to take the chance of a scratch or bite. We know that people do raise them. But, the last I heard, the rabbis shot was about $1200.

I thought most states required suspected rabid animals to be beheaded and the brain checked for rabies? (Gross, I know. But as you state, rabies is something to be taken seriously!)

Several years ago a client (I'm a painting contractor) had an odd-acting raccoon under his deck. It wasn't acting aggressive, just rather loopy and with no fear of humans, plus it was out in broad daylight. It was obviously ill - distemper, rabies, who knows. Mainly he was concerned about it dying under his deck and rotting in the summer heat.

I brought over a live trap and we trapped it, then called the DNR. A guy came out and took it; he said they would euthanise it and check for rabies.

Raccoons are not very fast-moving animals. Even a raccoon version of a flat-out run is a sort of ungainly, lumbering affair, from what I've seen!