They're really smart and their front paws are more like hands in that they have five fingers and are very agile; no opposable thumbs though, which means they don't have the exact dexterity of humans or apes, but still. They can get into basically anything and only need to watch you do something once or twice before they get the hang of it: locks, doorknobs, cabinets, containers, they will figure it out and get into it! And even if you have one that's not ~quite~ the brightest bulb in the chandelier (like my Bama was), they're very determined and will keep trying until they get it right (read: they'll keep on fucking with shit until they figure it out or break it, lol).
They are independent while still being social, and since they're not domesticated and have no real history of domestication, being essentially wild animals, they can be hard to train and once they grow up they can be a real handful.
I found Bama by the side of the road, his mom had been hit and killed by a car and he was only a few days old, he was clinging to her body and crying. I nursed him back to health and got attached (sigh...I was 10 and didn't know better), and had him for just over a year before taking him to a local wildlife center that had a raccoon rehab. Bama lived the rest of his days in their protected forest with other orphaned animals, like deer and opossums, and he became an "animal ambassador" that went to schools as part of the center's education program on local wildlife.
LOL after typing that dissertation I realized none of it addressed raccoon nuttiness:
I fully believe that raccoons have senses of humor, and that they enjoy broad, physical comedy. I think they are primarily motivated by food, but I think they love shenanigans almost as much as they love to eat. Raccoons also seem to have a decidedly 'fuck you, Charlie, I'ma git mine!' attitude.
I would swear that Bama purposefully did stuff that he thought was or would be hysterically funny, and/or for the joy of getting a reaction out of those around him. He got out of his crate and out of my room, climbed on the kitchen counter and emptied out all the storage cannisters onto the floor: flour, sugar, coffee. There were flour-y, coffee-y, sticky little pawprints all over the house, it was like he stuck his hands in the mess and then ran around putting his prints on every surface imaginable, and when we came home and found the mess I SWEAR HE WAS LAUGHING HIS ASS OFF. (Boy did I ever get in trouble for THAT.)
He also loved taunting Polly (my dog) from the other side of the locked glass door: he would stand on his hind legs and bang on the glass to get her attention, then he'd bounce around and shake his butt at her because he knew she couldn't get to him. He'd be all SMELL MY BUTT YOU STUPID DOG AHAHAHAHA!!! Polly would always go nuts and he would just stand there grinning and shaking his head at her. Polly never figured out that she was being teased and to ignore him! And he would taunt her from my lap: reach out and yank her tail or ear and then look at me like WHAT, ITS FUNNY! when I'd scold him for it.
And Bama loved to swipe stuff. He'd take anything that wasn't nailed down. I'd find stashes of his ill-gotten booty all over my room: coins, lip glosses (which he'd eat half of), earrings, a sock, hair barettes, stuff from out of the trash, whatever he could carry off in his hands! I was finding stuff he'd hidden away long after he'd gone and some stuff I never saw again, I don't know what happened to it.
My dad affectionately referred to Bama as 'Little Bastard'.
Why would a raccoon steal a carpet? Because he thinks it's funny!
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Date: 2011-06-05 01:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-05 01:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-05 02:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-05 01:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-05 06:01 pm (UTC)They are independent while still being social, and since they're not domesticated and have no real history of domestication, being essentially wild animals, they can be hard to train and once they grow up they can be a real handful.
I found Bama by the side of the road, his mom had been hit and killed by a car and he was only a few days old, he was clinging to her body and crying. I nursed him back to health and got attached (sigh...I was 10 and didn't know better), and had him for just over a year before taking him to a local wildlife center that had a raccoon rehab. Bama lived the rest of his days in their protected forest with other orphaned animals, like deer and opossums, and he became an "animal ambassador" that went to schools as part of the center's education program on local wildlife.
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Date: 2011-06-05 07:22 pm (UTC)I fully believe that raccoons have senses of humor, and that they enjoy broad, physical comedy. I think they are primarily motivated by food, but I think they love shenanigans almost as much as they love to eat. Raccoons also seem to have a decidedly 'fuck you, Charlie, I'ma git mine!' attitude.
I would swear that Bama purposefully did stuff that he thought was or would be hysterically funny, and/or for the joy of getting a reaction out of those around him. He got out of his crate and out of my room, climbed on the kitchen counter and emptied out all the storage cannisters onto the floor: flour, sugar, coffee. There were flour-y, coffee-y, sticky little pawprints all over the house, it was like he stuck his hands in the mess and then ran around putting his prints on every surface imaginable, and when we came home and found the mess I SWEAR HE WAS LAUGHING HIS ASS OFF. (Boy did I ever get in trouble for THAT.)
He also loved taunting Polly (my dog) from the other side of the locked glass door: he would stand on his hind legs and bang on the glass to get her attention, then he'd bounce around and shake his butt at her because he knew she couldn't get to him. He'd be all SMELL MY BUTT YOU STUPID DOG AHAHAHAHA!!! Polly would always go nuts and he would just stand there grinning and shaking his head at her. Polly never figured out that she was being teased and to ignore him! And he would taunt her from my lap: reach out and yank her tail or ear and then look at me like WHAT, ITS FUNNY! when I'd scold him for it.
And Bama loved to swipe stuff. He'd take anything that wasn't nailed down. I'd find stashes of his ill-gotten booty all over my room: coins, lip glosses (which he'd eat half of), earrings, a sock, hair barettes, stuff from out of the trash, whatever he could carry off in his hands! I was finding stuff he'd hidden away long after he'd gone and some stuff I never saw again, I don't know what happened to it.
My dad affectionately referred to Bama as 'Little Bastard'.
Why would a raccoon steal a carpet? Because he thinks it's funny!
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Date: 2011-06-05 10:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-05 12:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-05 01:44 pm (UTC)So THIS:
From HERE: http://edhelmssexualfrustration.tumblr.com/archive
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Date: 2011-06-05 01:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-05 09:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-05 10:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-06 12:21 am (UTC)