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Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Raccoons

I have an astounding story to tell you. This happened to me only yesterday, and it might be the most significant and unusual animal encounter I've ever had. I'm going to have to tell this one in multiple parts because this story is too big for just one post. I have very many pictures I hope to show you with the full story. I hope you enjoy this one.

When I went out hiking yesterday I was really hoping to see the heron I showed you last time. I thought the day would be just another ordinary hike with a few small forest creatures along the way. I can tell you though that there is nothing that could have prepared me for what happened. My encounter was completely unexpected.

I entered an area of the nature trail where I have seen very many chipmunks recently. When I began looking for them I found something else entirely. That's right, you guessed it. What I saw were four raccoons on the trail walking out of the shadows right towards me!

They didn't seem to notice me at first, so I frantically began trying to get my camera ready for a few pictures before they fled. It took longer than it should have, but I was soon clicking the shoot button as fast as I could. That's when they finally noticed me and looked up in my direction.

I thought for sure that they would run now, but they didn't do that at all! When they saw me they kept right on coming! As a matter of fact, not only did they keep moving towards me, they started moving towards me with a purpose. I can tell you now that I was a little shaken by this development.

As if that weren't enough, as they began to get closer their quick walk turned into a trot! They were now running right at me! They were running together and crisscrossing around each other, and their sole purpose was to be the first one to reach me. I soon noticed that the four I had originally seen had now grown to six!

What did they want? This is the second time now an animal ran towards me. The other time was a squirrel that scared me thoroughly until it stopped only to stare at me from a tree. These raccoons did not stop. I've been wanting to see a raccoon or a possum or even another bigger animal like that, but I never thought of this!

I'm going to end this part of the story right here. This will give me a chance to tell you the whole story without making you read a novel in a day. It will also enable me to show you many more pictures of this encounter. But what happened? Did they reach me? Am I injured? To find the answers to these and many more questions, tune in tomorrow. Same Rat time, same Rat channel!


24 comments:

  1. Wow..This is greeat.. I am a bit jealous because it seems to be very close to you. It has been a while i didn't have a chance to see animal close like this. You did a greeat job with your camera too. Seems to be you capture every movements that they make. This is really great Ratty. Good job on your adventure. :D

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  2. Ratty I fancy Davy Crockett would have been a happy man too, or have I got the wrong animal?

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  3. Awww!! What a great encounter!! They are so cute!! You had a lucky day Ratty!! That is one animal that I can never catch. Just a couple glimpses at night one time. Id be careful though. They can carry rabies.. I can't wait for the rest of the story..Ha!

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  4. Wow..those raccoons are very close to you. Waiting for the next installment!

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  5. wow, really cool pictures Ratty, a lot of them and look at their expression. They look like all ready to attack you. I don't know what would I do if I were in your place. I'll wait for the next part of the sotry :)

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  6. Very cute - raccoons, another creature to enjoy. I saw a black bear hopping across the highway on the way home last night - he would not stop and pose for me to take his picture.

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  7. holy buckets! i would be totally freaking out if they were all coming towards me. eagerly awaiting part 2

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  8. Hey, that's NOT FAIR! A CLIFF HANGER???
    C'Mon Ratty..what happened?
    I bet they were looking for a handout...sometimes they can get really tame from people throwing them food.
    But six running towards you must have been scary!
    I wish one of them had a camera and took your picture at the same time. ha I will await "the rest of the story"....

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  9. I saw a komodo dragon right in front of me while I was jogging along the river side. It never ran towards me, but crawled quickly into the bushes when I jogged closer to it. I never brought a camera, unluckily. But there must be in some day I'll meet this animal again.

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  10. They appear to be juvenile raccoons. I suspect they are either tame or there is a huge bag of opened garbage right behind you. Looking forward to the next installment!

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  11. I have had a lot of practice keeping raccoons out of my camp food. Something is living under my deck eith a groundhog or raccoon.. Have a great day.

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  12. Oh my goodness!They are so cute! Can't wait for your next chapter!

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  13. I love it when you keep us in suspense. I would be scared out of my mind. I can't wait for the next installment.

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  14. Are you some kind of Pied Piper?

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  15. Oh Raccoons are so beautiful !! Great one..Thanks for sharing..Great shots..Unseen Rajasthan

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  16. What?! I have to tune in again tomorrow?? Geesh. It's like a Raccoon Soap Opera!! Are they gonna smooch?

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  17. Awwww.. they are sooo cuuute!!! And for that, because your blog is always so wonderful and scenic, I have an award for you.

    Pick it up here

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  18. Then? what happened? They are cute, but when 6 of them come running towards me.. cute is not a proper word. Keep it going Ratty :)

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  19. Rose - This was a very different encounter with animals for me. They were close, and they got even closer. I was actually very clumsy with the camera because I had to watch the raccoons.
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    Mike - You have the right animal. Davy would have been able to make more than just a hat. He would have been able to make a whole suit with these.
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    Ginnymo - It was a very lucky day for my camera. These raccoons were determined to get to me, so if they did have rabies I was doomed. I'm glad they didn't
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    Icy BC - In the next part they will be even closer.
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    Betchai - They were definitely after me! I hope the next post of the story explains some of it. I hope to explain the whole story if I can.
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    Mike - A picture of a bear would be great, but I sure don't want to find one the same as I did these raccoons.
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    PJ - I was kind of freaked out by it, but it all happened too fast to get very scared.
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    The Retired One - Tomorrows post will probably explain it from my point of view. I know what they wanted, but I didn't have it. I'm not sure they've ever seen another human before me. If one of them would have had a camera, then I would have been scared.
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    Rainfield - A komodo dragon is something I would have been afraid of. I know they usually stay away from humans, but I've heard of a few recent attacks by them. A komodo dragon would make a great picture though.
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    Jen - They were definitely not tame. No bag of garbage either. They were indeed coming for me. Maybe it was the smell. :D
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    Joe Todd - Keeping a raccoon out of anything must be a chore. I remember reading a story of raccoons getting into somebody's house. That's part of their bandit reputation.
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    DC - Cute may even be an understatement.
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    Poetic Shutterbug - A good cliffhanger is fun sometimes, especially for the writer. This story had the potential to get scary.
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    Kruel - The raccoons behaved as if I was a Pied Piper.
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    Unseen Rajasthan - They are beautiful, especially their bandit masks.
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    Lin - Just like a soap opera, I'm going to drag this one out for as long as I can. :D
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    Daisy - Thanks! I'll be there to to accept as fast as I can. :)
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    Vanilla - You're right. Six raccoons running towards me didn't seem exactly cute at the time.

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  20. Ratty,
    You really know how to build the suspense, no fair to make us wait.
    It sounds like momma raccoon taking the babies out for a stroll. Usually the little ones are a bit hard to control. Most of the ones I see here momma is a bit more nervous and likes to shoo the babies up a tree.
    Great photos, good story I'm ready for the next chapter.
    SQ

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  21. What an adventure! I'd be scared if 6 came running toward me, even one running toward me would be scary! They are kind of cute though, love your pictures! I look forward to reading the rest of this story.

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  22. SquirrelQueen - You got it partly right, except these were all little ones, but I didn't see the mother.
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    Karen - It all happened so fast I didn't have time to be scared. I was watching them very closely though. Sometimes I foolishly forget fear.

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  23. Who knows what teenagers will do!? And I'm making myself read your posts in order so I don't know the end yet.

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  24. Sharkbytes - These teenagers became the main focus of the most amazing adventure I've ever had. I'm glad it's over though.

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