Missing Masked Bandits

[flyfisherman]

For the past five years or so, I've been making about four fishing trips a year; one in the spring, a couple during the summer and one in the fall. And this year, about right on target ... made a coastal fishing trip to South Carolina in the spring and now this summer, a couple to the North Carolina mountains. Trying to work out a time and detail with some other old cronies where we can do the Michigan fall salmon fishing run this fall.

But one thing we have always experienced big time is those bandit raccoons! And it has dawned on me that I have not seen one raccoon this camping season whereas in pervious years they would ALWAYS be there in the night, poking around the campsite, looking for a morsel or two. Shooing them off sort of got to be a way of life! In the mountains, at both nat'l forest C/G's (Nantahala and Pisgah), plently of black bear activity, but no raccoons. Has anyone else noted less raccoons this season?


Fly

[AustinBoston]

Has anyone else noted less raccoons this season?

I have only seen road-kill coons this year.  However, because we only rarely visit the same place twice, it's difficult to compare what we have seen this year with what we have seen in previous years.

In some areas, the prevalence of rabies can really cut into the raccoon population.  They have plenty of opportunities for infection, because they are somewhat social and it is not unusual to see 4-5 adults together on a garbage raid.  If that is what has happened in your area, then the population could drop quite a bit, but bounce back when the relative isolation of the small population stops the spread of the disease.

We will always have coons, unless we really screw things up.

Austin

[brainpause]

Not sure if we've seen less coons or not.

However, we did play with some baby coons a few weeks ago. They were rescued and were being raised by the cg hosts.

Larry

[ForestCreature]

Not sure if we've seen less coons or not.
 
 However, we did play with some baby coons a few weeks ago. They were rescued and were being raised by the cg hosts.
 
 Larry

I'm suprised the campground let them do that. Here it is illegal to foster wildlife unless you are a liscensed (thru the DNR) rehabber.
 
 As a side note, playing even with infant raccoons can be dangerous. My SIL had to go thru a series of rabie shots due to being bitten by a baby raccoon that was being fostered by an unliscensed person.
 

[Stoll]

We had lots of those raskely racoons camping this year.  In fact they took my
2 year olds binki (or at least he thinks so). Happy to say we have no more binki. However, he thinks racoons are bad boys! Any ways they really did get into our camping neighbors cooler and took spare ribs and brats. The next night all coolers were in the cars!

[brainpause]

I'm suprised the campground let them do that. Here it is illegal to foster wildlife unless you are a liscensed (thru the DNR) rehabber.
 
 As a side note, playing even with infant raccoons can be dangerous. My SIL had to go thru a series of rabie shots due to being bitten by a baby raccoon that was being fostered by an unliscensed person.
 

I should add that the wildlife people at the park were actually raising the coons. The cg host was "babysitting" while the wildlife person was gone to town/funeral/whatever.

Down here in Tennessee, I have seen people raising pet skunks and pet raccoons, but you are right...they can be dangerous and have rabies. Matter of fact, they had taken these babies for rabies shots already.

Larry

[Papaso]

We seemed to have noticed the same thing down here too. The DW and I were saying there are less out there this year on our last trip. The ones we've seen looked kind of rough (thin & homely looking). Who knows maybe it's the way the planets are aligned.:confused:

[Starryart]

Our favorite SP has a fair share of raccoons. One year we noticed that the population was very scarce indeed. The rangers said the coons had a distemper outbreak and it reduced their numbers dramatically. Now they are on the increase again.
 Better bungie those ice chests or risk losing your BBQ brisket!  :p