My Racoon Family

I noticed a mother and 5 baby racoons (called "kits") in a backyard tree about 6-7 weeks ago, and have seen the family at least a dozen times since then. My attempts at taking pictures never worked out because they were too far up into one of the trees.

Tonight I was alerted by my dog and saw them on a very close, lower limb and had my camera handy. I don't know where they have their nest, but these are some of the most adorable of God's creatures. Something happened to one of the kits about 3 weeks ago, as their family only has 4 left. I have read about racoons, and am careful not to harass, threaten, or feed them.

I was not able to get the mother in view at same time as the more curious babies, but she was there behind the trunk, standing guard. Mostly the kits have a ball playing with each other, biting each other's tail, playing with branches, and making a soft kitten like purring sound.

Lights were a combination of FiveMega 1.5D using WA-1331 with AW's multi-level driver, Mag85, and last shots with Mag625 which freaked them out, so I only used it for a few seconds to take the picture. They turned away in response, and made the only alarming kind of sound the whole time I have watched them. The rest of the time, they were playful, curious, and responsive to various noises I made.

What a bunch of Cute critters! Thanks for posting and taking care of them,

Lux - priceless!
thanks for that

Very nice pics, thanks for sharing.

There's a fox crossing my backyard nearly every night but all attempts to take pictures have failed until now. And BTW she hates flashlights.... :devil:

Thank you for the pictures LuxLuthor.:twothumbs
Racoons are so cute.

Wait till they decide it's fun to screw up your yard, then come back to tell me they are still cute.

Look at those picshots! Cool. . .

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Here in King County Washington, the news mentioned that there's a problem with raccoon families moving into people's yards and such this time of year. Therefore they gave the homeowners the okay to "destroy" (the exact word I heard) the raccoons! ? ! ? ! ? Catching them and releasing back into the wilds is illegal they say.

Put some cheap dry dog food out for them and you'll make friends. I used to do this and they got so they would come when I called. A bowl of water is popular, too.

Geoff

LuxLuthor, great photos, thanks for posting them. We have a racoon family that "winters" in our attic. Every time we patch up the place where they enter, they manage to undo the repairs and go back to their warm nest. If they get so rowdy as to keep us from a good night's sleep, I venture up there and spread some dried coyote urine I bought on the web. That usually gets them to reluctantly leave, for a little while at least.

I've caught a few glances of one of the adults, followed by the kits, walking down our roof at night to go hunt, but I've never managed to get a photo of them.

Racoons are amazing creatures, for better or worse. Thanks again for the great pics.

I just KNEW you had a "family"! Nice pics!


Karl

Cute pix.

Just be careful, they are VERY POWERFUL for their size and tend to have a short fuse.

Now all we need is a camera with a greeny-yellow-eye-reduction setting.

Thanks for sharing those photos, Lux! What cute little critters they are.

Actually, Paint Shop Pro has a red eye fix that I just re-did the 3 middle pix, so refresh your browser. I was reading this page about them.

LuxLuthor said:

Actually, Paint Shop Pro has a red eye fix that I just

Click to expand...

I was joking, Joyce!

Never mind, lovely photos.

LOL, well I kept the originals too....but thought they looked cuter without having the "evil glowing" eyes.

Awwwwwwwwww!!! So cute!

Nice pics, Lux! I love racoons, and see them a lot around where I live. Thanks for sharing.

Cute animals.

Very Nice!:naughty: