An Unwanted Guest

Years ago, back when we would keep the doors open to let in the summer breeze, we got an unexpected visitor. We heard some clamour in the kitchen and, thinking it was our cat, Trouble, went out to see what she'd got into this time. (She was, after all, named 'Trouble' for a reason.)

It wasn't Trouble, at least not with a capital 't.' It was a raccoon, and he'd not only spilt Trouble's water, but tasted her food and then climbed up onto the counter, and from there reached the top of the refrigerator, where we kept the bread. The butter, which was kept on the counter, had been knocked over onto the floor. Trouble was in the corner, eyes wide, watching the raccoon with her back arched and her tail fluffy, being very quiet.  

The raccoon darted back outside upon seeing us; but he took the bread with him. We chased after, called out, 'Hey! That's OUR bread!'; whereupon he promptly let go his catch and escaped into the night. 

Unfortunately, the new loaf of bread was ruined, having been punctured by raccoon teeth. The butter, too, was a loss, as it had smashed unceremoniously on the kitchen floor. 

Raccoons are notorious for getting into places they shouldn't, and, being quite bold, won't hesitate to come indoors if they think for a second that you won't catch them at it. They're quite clever with their hands and can open things you might not expect them to. They're also vicious fighters; our dad told us they're strong enough to drown a dog should one follow them into the water; so Trouble was very smart, keeping her distance as she did.

According to our copy of Mammals, by William H. Burt and Richard P. Grossenheider, raccoons can weigh up to 35 pounds. They may be identified by the black mask-like pattern around their eyes and the rings on their tails. They have five toes on each paw, walk on the entire paw, and have non-retractile claws. Mainly, they're nocturnal, but they can be seen during the day, and we have seen them on sunny days on more than one occasion. 

Raccoons are omnivorous, eating grains, frogs, crayfish, insects, bird eggs, fruits, nuts, and pretty much anything they can get out of a rubbish bin. They mostly feed by streams and lakes, and may dip their food in water. 

Usually, they den in hollow trees, but they may also den in hollow logs, rock crevices, or ground burrows. They do not hibernate.  

We got the image above from Google Images (https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1024&bih=643&q=raccoon&oq=raccoon&gs_l=img.1.0.0l10.1423.2573.0.5313.7.4.0.3.3.0.69.194.4.4.0...0.0.0..1ac.1.17.img.8jZ6Wjg_tWY).