I once raised a baby raccoon for re-release to the wild.
Unlike some wild animal babies which can never be returned to
the wild, raccoons re-acclimate quite easily. I had the
raccoon for about a year. He was awfully adorable as a baby
-- rode my shoulder, felt my face with his little hands, etc.
As a male raccoon approaches sexual maturity, he does become
more snappish and aggressive. I could tell that my dog and
cat were becoming nervous around him. So it felt natural that
the raccoon would eventually prefer the wild. After taking
him out to a forest grove a couple of times, he decided to
scurry up a tree and would not come down despite my calling
him repeatedly. I took that as a good-bye.
Some people of course have had mature raccoons as pets, but
I'll tell you, those hands can get them into a lot of
trouble. I'd keep my refrigerator locked, for one
thing!
Best regards, Mark Harris
On 11/6/07, Richard Moore <
moorich@aol.com> wrote:
>
> --- In
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com
<rara-avis-l%40yahoogroups.com>,
> William Ahearn
> <williamahearn@...> wrote:
> >
> >
> > --- Richard Moore <moorich@...>
wrote:
> >
> > Cox and
> > > Marlon Brando were great friends and
roommates for a
> > > time and
> > > enjoyed riding their motorcycles
together.
> >
> > And they shared the apartment with a pet
racoon.
> >
> > William
> >
>
> Yes, and reports are that Wally Cox hated that
raccoon and
> eventually moved out because of the pet.
>
> Both the Cox and Brando entries on IMDB say that
Brando had
> possession of Cox's ashes for decades (having
received them from
> Cox's widow). Brando was also cremated and his son
says at his
> father's request his ashes and Cox's ashes were
scattered together
> in Death Valley.
>
> Oddly touching. But...a stray nook or cranny of my
brain wonders
> what happened to the raccoon. Is that perverse to
wonder about?
> Perhaps, mildly weird to wonder about the
raccoon...they are very
> clean animals--washing all their food--but also very
aggressive even
> when not rabid which they seem to be with some
regularity. I learned
> as a child that one should never give a raccoon a
sugar cube as they
> will become frustrated as the treat disappears as
they compulsively
> wash it. I think it is the mask that gives the
raccoon a bit of a
> sinister aura and, perhaps, makes it a more likely
companion for
> actors--more likely than, say, its fellow nocturnal
creature the
> possum.
>
> Richard Moore
>
>
>
-- Mark R. Harris 2122 W. Russet Court #8 Appleton WI 54914 (920) 470-9855 brokerharris@gmail.com
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