Trace of the Masked Bandit

There were sounds outside the house last night, some intruder was crossing the deck. My two cats were immediately alarmed and both were at the door, peering out into the dark. I jumped out of bed and turned on the outside light and there was the culprit, standing there, looking in the window. He had a perfect fitting black mask and a heavy coat and showed no fear of me. A coat of fur that is, thick and brown colored and a long tail with stripes of black. A raccoon (Procyon lotor). The name raccoon is derived from the Algonquin Indian word ahrah-koon-em.

The next day I noticed the raccoons tracks, in the snow, and each foot being about 3 inches long, with perfect finger prints, showing in the snow. The claws marks were readily identifiable, as they do not retract, like a cats.

The raccoon inhabits most of the United States, Mexico, northern South America and southern Canada. They are also are found in parts of Europe and Asia, where captive animals escaped captivity and established wild populations. They are a very adaptable animal and smart and have been able to expand their range due to this and possibly due to a reduction of predators in their environment. They rely on trees, buildings and other high objects to escape predators, and avoid open areas, and they prefer to den in hollow trees, but will also use caves, or burrows from other animals such as marmots or abandoned buildings.

A raccoon can weigh from 12 to 35 pounds, can stand on their hind legs to examine objects with their front paws. They are classified as an omnivore, and will eat plants and animals. They commonly feed on nuts, grains, berries, crayfish, bird eggs, frogs, insects and small mammals such as mice. They are preyed upon by coyotes, wolves, mountain lions, hawks and owls.

North American Indian tribes have a great deal of mythology about raccoons, and he was viewed as a trickster or one that misleads. The raccoon was believed to be spiritual because of its link to air, earth and water. The raccoon spends a great deal of time climbing and denning in hollow trees, thus the link to air, yet they spend even more time on the ground, thus the link to earth. The raccoon is also seen hunting fish, frogs and crustaceans, thus the link to water.

I sometimes see these masked bandits at night, near my house, but they cause no harm other than raiding my grapes in the fall. It's not a good idea not to feed them. The sight of a raccoon standing outside our glass door, with one of my cats staring back, is a sight to see. The raccoons are a joy to watch, and they always seem to be up to something; staring down my cats, ringing the wind chimes or just rooting around the yard eating insects or climbing and sleeping in the trees. When I see a raccoon, they will often look me right in the eye, like they are saying"watch what tricks I can play now!"