Mother Kimmie Resting

Photos taken last June and July. Kimmie is as big as she looks here - yet is very gentle and loves to bring her family by so I can pretend to be a babysitter.

Rampant Raccoon

I posted this one a long time ago, but it's still one of my favorite. Whlie he may look vicious - it's not true. This early full grown youngster is simply chewing on some dry, hard food.

Whats for dessert?

Yep,this is Charlie showing off. What a character.

Finding the treats

But not too busy to give a cute pose. This is one of Kimmie's wilder kits.

Chloe Returns With Her Family

Chloe came by last night with her entire family. It seems she only has two kits this year. As usual they all seemed very healthy and easy to get along with. (Unlike three if Kimmies youngsters who are 'grabby' and one might say bratty). It was hard to get a photograph of the little ones as they wanted to check out the camera or climb up on my knee to beg for a treat.

Mother Chloe

Chloe has all her new fur, has put on a little weight, and is looking extremely well.

Big Momma, aka Kimmie.

Just a couple or 'portraits' of Kimmie that I took last week. Though Kimmie is very big for a raccoon, she has a very passive, almost friendly nature. A beautiful critter.

Relaxed!

I just sit, relax, and eat everything in sight

Young male, very shy!

Well look who came back. One of the very shy newcomers helping himself to some banana. Notice the tiny nick on the base of his left ear. That’s where the photography helps in making an identification. This young fellow is still extremely wary, the slightest movement on my part and he would vanish for a couple of minutes. My guess is this is a ‘teenage’ male who does not dare come anywhere near other female raccoons with their kits. He is probably only a little over a year old.

Chloe

Her winter coat is almost gone - and she looks pretty awful, but is in good health and as sweet as ever. I'm beginning to think she may be a lot older than I thought. I first made friends with her in 2008, but I think she may have been around at least two years before that. She will still sit up and take a tea biscuit from my hand, but I still can't say for sure if she is expecting, or has had her kits already. If she starts coming by during the day it will probably indicate she is nursing a brood. She is a real little lady - even her year-old kits are twice her size!

Chloe in 2008

Note - the E-Mail address in the video is no longer valid.

Alex is back!

Alex is one of Chloe's daughters. She is one of the most inquisitive and friendly of the wild raccoons. Since she is not quite a year old it's unlikly she will have any kits of her own this year. It's sure nice to see her return - and remember me.

Raccoon Guys Hanging Out.

The male raccoons have no hand (or paw) in rearing the kits. In fact the mother raccoon will drive any away should they dare to come near the den. During this period the males will often travel together. This is a photograph of two such fellows that came by frequently last summer. Ths is Scar (on the left) and Bear. Scar has survived a very nasty infection on the side of his muzzle. It may have been from a cut, or perhaps an abcessed tooth. Though it must have been very painful he still managed to eat. Though it took over about six weeks, his recovery was full.

Direction

A journal about the antics of various creatures that frequent a suburban back yard near Montreal, Canada.

I started taking photographs of the local raccoons so I could eventually distinguish one from another. It's hard to identify an individual by it's physical appearance though each does have a distinctive personality.

Much to my surprise, these particular animals though wild, turned out to be very inquisitive, intelligent, and even sociable.