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Thread: Interesting camping experience

  1. #1
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    Interesting camping experience

    We camped at Tomlinson Run State Park in West Virginia starting Wednesday (9/11) evening. Thursday morning I took our dog Rudy for a walk and as we were walking we noticed two people from the campsite right next to us watching the roll off type 30 yard dumpster near the camp office. When I spoke with them, they said that they had thrown some trash into the dumpster an hear a lot of scratching noise. When they peaked over the side, they say 6 raccoons that were trapped in the almost empty dumpster. The man located a stout branch and had placed it over the side of the dumpster and all but one last raccoon had climbed out. As I watch the last one came up over the side and headed into the woods. The man left the branch in the corner of the dumpster and we went about our day.

    Then Friday, Rudy and I were making the same walk and when I tossed a bag into the dumpster I heard a lot of noise. When I peeked over the side, I saw that they had knocked down the branch from the day before and there looking up were.....
    raccoons.jpg

    As I looked for another branch to help them escape, the same couple walked by with their dog and couldn't believe there were so many raccoons. We found another branch and pretty soon we had a parade of raccoons up the side, run around the rim to the back an then down and into the woods. There were 11 of them.

    The branch was still in place the next morning so there were no raccoons.
    Lee Schierer
    USNA '71
    Go Navy!

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  2. #2
    Any idea how they were getting into the dumpster?

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  3. #3
    Yes, that's a lot of raccoons. But nature has it under control, when they get too numerous there will be a remake of
    "Davy Crockett".

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Henderson View Post
    Any idea how they were getting into the dumpster?

    Mike
    On the Thursday night they most likely went down the branch we had left in the dumpster and somehow they knocked the branch down.
    Lee Schierer
    USNA '71
    Go Navy!

    My advice, comments and suggestions are free, but it costs money to run the site. If you found something of value here please give a little something back by becoming a contributor! Please Contribute

  5. #5
    Raccoons are so illusive you just don't how many there are. Then they are nocturnal so you rarely see one in the day time. I live in the country and started feeding a racoon that was hanging around my shop. First thing you know I was feeding 15 of them.

  6. #6
    Good on ya Lee. Well done.
    Really great picture too!
    Fred
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  7. #7
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    That’s why they call them “trash pandas.”

  8. #8
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    Cute but carriers of many diseases including rabies.

  9. #9
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    Nothing cute about them. Dump your garbage cans, raid your garden. All around thieves (the good lord gave them masks so you would have fair warning) without any redeeming qualities I can think of.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Larry Frank View Post
    Cute but carriers of many diseases including rabies.
    I wondered about that too. Raccoon rabies has been eliminated in most of TN but is still prevalent in other eastern states including WV. A fourth rabid raccoon this year was found a few months ago in WV a little south of that area in Monongalia County and apparently on the rise according to reported cases. Something to keep mind.

    I don't welcome them here because they kill poultry, most recently two adult guineas one night. Raccoons killed seven of a friend's young guineas in one day. One night I discovered one just in time inside my building with 12 young peacocks - it had squeezed through a 3" opening near the ceiling (since patched). Another raccoon pulled a young chicken through a 1/2" gap under a door and left a pile of feathers outside on the step.

    I realize they have to eat too but I prefer they frequent some other restaurant!

    JKJ

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nicholas Lawrence View Post
    Nothing cute about them. Dump your garbage cans, raid your garden. All around thieves (the good lord gave them masks so you would have fair warning) without any redeeming qualities I can think of.
    So many of nature's creatures are cute until you have to actually deal with them. Raccoons are one of the best examples, but stray (feral) cats, wild dogs, skunks of course, and so may others are a pain when they breed and are around your house. Deer are horrible and well, bears, I won't even talk about.
    I am in love with Montana. For other states I have admiration, respect, recognition, even some affection, but with Montana it is love.... It seems to me that Montana is a great splash of grandeur....the mountains are the kind I would create if mountains were ever put on my agenda. Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans. Montana has a spell on me. It is grandeur and warmth. Of all the states it is my favorite and my love.

    John Steinbeck


  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Nicholas Lawrence View Post
    Nothing cute about them. Dump your garbage cans, raid your garden. All around thieves (the good lord gave them masks so you would have fair warning) without any redeeming qualities I can think of.
    Once you have (inadvertently?) set up a scent trail to where they can reliably find food, the plague of them will be upon you until you can disrupt it, and we shouldn't talk about that. That's getting into the "Honey Boo Boo lifestyle", and it depends on what your tastes are, in stew, etc.

    Leave nature alone, unless you like that sort of thing.

  13. #13
    At least it was raccoons, instead of bear cubs. Our daughter lives across the road from Cacapon State Park. Any trash can left outside and not in a bear resistant cage is fair game.

  14. #14
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    Raccoons are a pest at best. They will destroy a sweet corn patch in a night or two if you don't take steps to prevent it. They will eat your pets food if you feed them outside. They can find their way into places you least expect as John alluded to. My parents always had chickens and you had to make sure there was no openings they could squeeze through. They love a chicken dinner too and will leave a trail of feathers. I'm sure after you left they ended up back in the dumpster again and they might not have had anyone to rescue them the next time. We've been noticing a lot of them killed on the road this summer. Often if there's one there are two or three or more. (Families)

  15. #15
    I was walking the dogs in the yard a couple months ago and saw this:

    IMG_6417.jpg

    My first thought was, "Where is your mommy?" Mostly because I was worried that she was nearby. My dopey lab and perky poodle eventually saw them (after about 10 minutes) and barked at them, until I dragged them back into the house. Fortunately when I went to check on them a couple hours later, they were gone. My guess is that the mom left them under the tree for safe keeping and later went back and got them.

    As much as I don't like raccoons, I have to admit, they do make pretty cute cubs.

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