Raccoon in summertime

By Aaron Horrell

The raccoon is one of our easiest native animals to recognize. He is distinguished in his black face-mask and ringed tail.

In summertime he becomes a pest in several ways. He is much like a little black bear seeking out trash cans to turn over and investigate for a free lunch. Food scraps tossed into a trash can put off more odor during the hot days of summer than any other season. Raccoons have very good sense of smell, and rotting garbage is an open invitation for them to visit. Raccoons will eat almost anything humans will eat -- and more. Fruit, meat scraps, vegetables, dog/cat food, fish, insects and even sunflower seed are all on the raccoon's menu.

I captured this image of a raccoon coming out of the brush where I had previously thrown cut ends and shucks from several sweet-corn ears.

Raccoons are beautiful animals that can grow to about the size of a medium sized bulldog. They have sharp teeth and claws and will not hesitate to fight either dog or man when cornered. If you are an unlucky homeowner who has ever had raccoons take up residence in the attic of your home, you know the trouble they can cause and the difficulty in getting them removed.