I received this question a few days ago from someone who was concerned about reports she’d heard of raccoons climbing onto swimming dogs’ heads with the intention of drowning them. In short, the answer to this question is no. A raccoon does not have a motivation to chase a large predator into water and climbContinue reading “Do Raccoons Drown Dogs?”
Tag Archives: raccoons
Rabid Animal? Don’t Shoot!
I specialize in rescuing rabies vector species. Among the most frustrating calls, messages, and comments I receive are from people bragging about how they saw a “rabid” animal, and reacted by shooting it in the head. When an animal does have genuinely rabies-like symptoms, it must be euthanized, not just for human safety, but forContinue reading “Rabid Animal? Don’t Shoot!”
Killing Raccoons Creates Bigger Problems
Widespread hunting of raccoons isn’t an effective way to reduce their populations. In some cases, it can actually create a much larger problem, by eliminating the dominant older males in an area, causing it to flood with younger competitors.
A Raccoon’s Sense of Touch
Think of a bloodhound’s sense of smell. Think of a hawk’s sense of sight. That’s what touch is, for a raccoon. This is part of why the work For Fox Sake does is so important. It’s been my experience, seeing raccoons in their weakest moments, that they appear to feel pain severely and acutely. WhatContinue reading “A Raccoon’s Sense of Touch”
The Sensitivity of Raccoons
It’s easy for people to forget that wild animals, like raccoons, have feelings and families just like our pets. I would like to share with you, an example of the sensitivity I’ve seen from wild raccoons. Last April, I unfortunately witnessed the death of a raccoon kit who had been attacked by a dog. IContinue reading “The Sensitivity of Raccoons”
Rabies Doesn’t Look Like Rabies
I specialize in rescuing wild animals that are categorized as “rabies vector species”— foxes, skunks, and raccoons. It’s been my experience that many people will either enormously over-react or under-react to the risk of rabies. For every person I’ve encountered who has shot a healthy animal for no reason at all, I’ve also encountered manyContinue reading “Rabies Doesn’t Look Like Rabies”
Raccoon Torpor: It’s not rabies!
Healthy raccoons can be active in the daytime during any time of the year. But as night temperatures fall, you’re more likely to see a raccoon coming out during daylight hours. Raccoons enter a hibernation-like state during winter known as torpor. During this time, they sleep much more often, but will come out on warmContinue reading “Raccoon Torpor: It’s not rabies!”
Don’t Relocate Raccoons!
In nearly all cases, a raccoon that has gotten too familiar with a human home— hanging out on the deck or moving into the attic, for example— will leave after after the home owners use humane harassment techniques to scare them away. You can try loud music, bright or flashing lights, stomping or clapping, strongContinue reading “Don’t Relocate Raccoons!”
Vaccinate Your Pets to Save Wildlife
I usually share photos of only a fraction of the animals I’m called to assist— the few that actually get brought into rehabilitation. The other animals I help are never “rescued” per se, but instead, mercifully euthanized because it’s the only way to assist them. This five-month-old male is one of the animals I’ve helpedContinue reading “Vaccinate Your Pets to Save Wildlife”
“Do You Just Save Raccoons?”
You might have noticed that most recent photos of animals at For Fox Sake are raccoons. But trash pandas are, by no means, the only kind of animal I assist! My facility is licensed to rehabilitate Tennessee’s “rabies vector species”: raccoons, grey foxes, red foxes, striped skunks, and Eastern spotted skunks. All of these animalsContinue reading ““Do You Just Save Raccoons?””
