Tag: common raccoon

Testing the Ice

A common raccoon walks across the ice in Bower Slough in the River S Unit of Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in Ridgefield, Washington on January 2, 2011. Original: _MG_3416.CR2

The water at Ridgefield didn’t freeze very often but I loved being there when it did, this raccoon was using its newfound capability of walking on water to move about Bower Slough. When it reached the edge where the water hadn’t frozen, after testing the ice it backed up and scrambled up the embankment and continued its hunt on dry land.

A common raccoon tests the ice in Bower Slough in the River S Unit of Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in Ridgefield, Washington on January 2, 2011. Original: _MG_3425.CR2

📷: Canon 7D | Canon 500mm f/4
Date: January 2, 2011

Treed

Treed

While driving past Bower Slough I came upon a family of river otters that were fishing and preening and playing. After a while a family of raccoons came meandering down the shoreline but they bolted for the trees when the otters saw them. After the otters circled the trees for a while they moved on and eventually the raccoons descended back to the ground. This one initially got caught behind some wire mesh that had been put around the base of the tree to protect it from beavers, but it climbed back up past the mesh and hopped into an adjacent tree and then to the ground.

Adaptable

A common raccoon sleeps on a carport in Portland, Oregon

Raccoons have adapted so well to the way that modern man has transformed the American landscape that it is estimated that there are more raccoons now than ever before. This one came into our backyard a few years ago to dine on the multitude of raspberries growing near the fence. After eating its fill, it crawled up to nap on a nearby carport.