Raccoon Update XII - All Are Welcome In The Critter Cafe

Hello friends, and welcome to the twelfth installment of our Critter Cafe. If you are new to us, this is a place where Critter People gather and talk about anything and everything.

All are welcome here and there is no such thing as "off topic" in the Critter Cafe.

To start us off, here is a picture of Logan Frodo that Eric took this evening. This handsome young male raccoon is enjoying his last days of sloth and lethargy before some mean Mama Raccoon kicks him out of our yard in July, because she perceives him to be a threat to her babies.


A toast to sloth and lethargy, my friends!!!

Do raccoons differ in their face colouring?
iow - how do you tell them apart?
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Thanks for the Logan F pic, Angela
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That's one of he best ones I've seen of him.

Do raccoons differ in their face colouring?
iow - how do you tell them apart?

I think raccoons are all very individual looking just like sheep are.

I can tell some of my raccoons by physical markings. The black mask band around the eyes, for example, is often "scoopy" or "straight". Logan's is particularly "scoopy" if you look at him straight on. His littermate Otis had a particularly straight mask band. Raccoons also differ in size, and sometimes I distinguish them that way.

Most often, however, I identify them by behaviors they consistently exhibit. Of the three raccoons who visit now, Logan runs right up to my feet, Interloper Mama hangs back but will "beg" by standing on her hind legs, and the raccoon we think might be Izzy is an accomplished rail dancer. Logan and IM tend to rest in different parts of the yard when food is not immediately present. Logan stretches out on our patio and IM hunkers down near the deck opening.

I find personality traits and behaviors to be the easiest, most reliable way to identify my visitors, but no method is foolproof. Eric and I do have pretty good inter-rater reliability, though...

That made me laugh for sure!

Steve
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Laughing only encourages him, but I must admit I'm laughing too.

And why should we forget the ultimate Raccoon look alike?


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It's good to be back amongst friends and colleagues

I'm with Scarecrow, much prefer these masked people.