Monday, November 21, 2011

Corralitas Drive: Raccoon Posing

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 19, 10:25 PM.  This raccoon just took to the camera, posing calmly.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Saturday night my dog alerted me to something about 20' up in the rubber tree.  The wind and the weight of the animal had the tree branch moving considerably. When it finally caught the light, I could see it was not a fat-assed cat.  

I grabbed my camera, left the dog inside and I headed out to shoot in the dark. I soon realized there was more than one raccoon in the tree.  There were at least five picking and eating the small fruit in the rubber tree. 
Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 19, 2011.  Of the 5 raccoons in the tree, this was the only one who kept posing and did not try to hide.  Perhaps it was friends with the skunk who struck poses for my camera this summer.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

These are the first raccoon photos I've been able to get.  I usually encounter raccoons late at night, with no camera in my pocket.  Do not let your dogs go after a raccoon as they are capable of killing a dog.  Keep your dogs on a leash.  They also carry diseases transmissible to cats and dogs.  So keep your pets vaccinations up to date.  Never feed wildlife.