Crazy photo shows San Francisco's raccoon problem

[Demovictory9]

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/raccoons-Golden-Gate-Park-San-Francisco-feeding-15591893.php




An S.F. father and son were walking their dog in Golden Gate Park on Thursday when they turned the corner and encountered 14 cavorting raccoons.

Marc Estoque and his boy were surprised to see the animals in broad daylight and approach so closely as they made their way along a trail next to North Lake near 43rd Avenue and Fulton.

"It was so surreal...a posse of bandits...like out of a movie," Estoque said. "And then two minutes later there was a coyote. I was waiting for the unicorn to pop out."


He captured photos and video of the moment and he's sharing them to raise awareness about an increasing problem in the park with people feeding wildlife and the animals losing their natural fear of humans and congregating in large groups. Estoque and his son didn't offer the critters food, but the raccoons were likely looking for snacks.


"We want to keep the animals wild," he said.

Wildlife ecologist Jonathan Young said food handouts to wildlife increases the potential for attacks on humans, and he has witnessed people in the park hand-feeding animals.

"I’ve seen it first hand in that area and people were feeding them in broad daylight," said Young, who works for the Presidio Trust. "And there were at least this many people huddled around that person. It’s not good. It’s really bad."

[sir pball]

1. Looks like Riverside Park in NYC

I'm walking up there a fair bit at dusk, the adorable trash pandas are EVERYWHERE. Had a lil guy pop up out of a garbage can as I was walking by, stare at me and freeze in horror, then sloooowly sink back down. Squee!

[maxsolomon]

2. There's probably too many for the habitat now - because of human feeding.

It's a hard thing to stop, like the urban crazies who feed pigeons all day.

This is a town where young men teased a Tiger until it escaped its enclosure and killed one of them (unfortunately, the one that didn't ask for it).

Humans are dumb apes.

[roamer65]

3. They are hungry.

Less people out, less food.

[kimbutgar]

4. Wow last week I was in stern Grove and only saw squirrels but there were plenty of dogs so

I guess the raccoons are scared of squirrels. Where I live one night a raccoon came up in my deck and harassed my cat for over 30 minutes. But I would freak out if I saw these I the park!

That said they aren’t picking up the garbage In GG Park like they used to before COVID I suspect they are enjoying the food they find and looking for more.

[dalton99a]

5. Washington, D.C.:

[Demovictory9]

6. Poor racoon!

[mahatmakanejeeves]

7. I beg to differ. That happened in northern Virginia.

‘Trash Raccoon’ Rides Garbage Truck From Rosslyn to Falls Church

Tim Regan February 17, 2017 at 1:15pm
(Updated at 1:36 p.m.) A raccoon apparently took a wild ride through Arlington today.

Politico reporter Helena B. Evich first spotted an adventurous animal hitching a ride on the back of an American Disposal Services trash truck in Rosslyn a little after 11 a.m. this morning.

Naturally, she tweeted about it:

This raccoon is having a rough morning-just wanted some trash & ended up in Rosslyn!

>And yes I alerted the driver

Link to tweet

Evich also called American Disposal Services to report the creature she dubbed the “trash raccoon.” Eventually, that report made its way to Anna Wilkinson, the company’s communications director.

Link to tweet

“As soon as we found out that the raccoon was on the truck, the driver pulled over because we didn’t want the raccoon to get injured,” Wilkinson said.

By the time the driver pulled over, the truck had traveled all the way from Rosslyn to Falls Church. Wilkinson said she then called the Falls Church Police Department’s animal control team, who came to retrieve the skittish stowaway and make sure it was out of harm’s way.

{snip}

[Bayard]

8. Yowza!

We've been trapping them this summer, and releasing them elsewhere. We lost several chickens and ducks.

Cute as they can be, raccoons are mean little boogers, and will definitely nail you, given the opportunity. They carry rabies.

Looking at this photo, they need to start trapping.

[Drahthaardogs]

10. One crawled into my dogs kennel and started eating his food

The dog was NOT okay with that. Shit. Got. Real.

[Ahpook]

12. Great idea

When I lived in Ponce Inlet, we had them all over. There is the Atlantic to the east and the intercoastal waterway to the west. I suppose they were kind of pinched and their numbers exploded.

Anyway, my wife started feeding them at night which in turn got our dogs attacked. Really intensely bad fight one evening.

The wee ones are cute, but they can be a problem!

[Hekate]

13. All of what you said

[peggysue2]

9. Yikes!

An army of raccoons. I have never seen that many raccoons together. And obviously fearless.

[Rollo]

11. Raccoons are dangerous animals

Let's clear up a few things:

1) Yes they can carry rabies. But it's more likely they carry a roundworm that humans can get and has caused death in infants and immune-compromised children/adults. It's called Baylisascaris procyonis. Look it up. The studies I've seen indicate that most raccoons in many areas of America carry this roundworm. It's harmless for the raccoon, but can be fatal for people. Unless you enjoy having a roundworm tunneling into your eyes or brain.

2) In my area, and probably in most areas, it's illegal to trap, transport, and release nuisance animals like raccoons. It just turns your problem in somebody else's problem, and will not reduce the animal population in your area.

3) Raccoons can and will attack pet dogs, resulting in injuries that require veterinary care.

4) You do not want to get into a physical fight with a raccoon.


If you have raccoons that have become a problem, first contact fish and game for your state and find out what legal things you can do to address it. Do NOT transport and release problem raccoons.

PS-The raccoon roundworm eggs are persistent and last for a year of more in soil. Standard procedure to decontaminate traps and cages used to hold raccoons is to use a blow torch. Yup, you got that right, a blow torch. Think about it!

[Bayard]

14. Kentucky Law

Landowners May Remove Wildlife or Designate an Individual to Assist
Per KRS 150.170, landowners may deal with nuisance wildlife through scare tactics, repellents, fencing and exclusion, or removal via shooting or trapping.

I figure trapping them (10 so far), and turning them loose at the county dump is better than shooting them. The alternative is to hire a "fur trapper".