We haven’t seen any raccoons since moving to this new place, but we’ve seen plenty of raccoon foot prints since the snow. They seem to take the same route every night, their tracks like invisible ink until the snow reveals their secrets.
raccoon paw prints
mark the ice on our fish pond
washing thwarted
Note: Although it looks like raccoons “wash” their food, they don’t actually do it to be fastidious. Scientists used to think raccoons didn’t have enough saliva and needed to wet their food to swallow it. It’s since been discovered that raccoons do have enough saliva. They may simply be wetting their food to soften it or to enhance the tactile experience (they like to feel their food, and their hands become more sensative when wet).
January 10, 2009 at 10:49 am |
what lovely tracks! I’ve often wondered why racconns wash their food…
January 26, 2010 at 2:46 pm |
Are you sure these aren’t from an otter?
January 27, 2010 at 5:29 pm |
We did see the raccoons after this. Haven’t seen any otters (might be a little too urban for them and perhaps a bit far from the type of water they like). I love otters, though, so would be nice if they were around.