My son and I released a juvenile raccoon that was caught in an unattended trap last winter. It was a dumpster diver that took the bait and walked into a humane trap.
But, since no one ever checks these traps (state law requires me to check fur traps every 24 hours) we weren't gonna let the little critter freeze. I opened the trap and tried to dump it out but it refused to release its grip inside. But, once I started baby talking it in a higher voice, it looked me in the eyes and ran out and home, presumably to warm, shared, family digs in a tree in the nearby woods.
My son and I felt good about ourselves that morning. Either humanely harvest or release the critters, or we'll release them back to their dumpster diving tasks.
“The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable.” ~ H. L. Mencken
“The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable.” ~ H. L. Mencken
Raccoons are terrors who will stand up and fight you. I saw two fighting over a bag of Fritos and the racket they made was shocking.
You bet.
Coon have wicked teeth and they're fast and super strong. They were the first critter I ever saw described as "a living buzzsaw".
State game departments don't often release trapped coons because they are known rabies carriers. The cost of quarantine before release is prohibitive, so they're generally destroyed when trapped out for reasons of nuisance.
