I think this trash panda was a bit surprised that I caught it as it hurried home. Recently I posted a pic of a different raccoon and said how rarely I have photographed them. Right after that, I then saw this gal. Go figure! I was actually at a bald eagle nest when I saw the raccoon heading across the field toward a neighboring tree. As it climbed, it stopped briefly, giving me this nice look. It only lasted a few seconds before it resumed its climb and went into a cavity in the tree, not to be seen again.
Raccoon heads back home to its den after a night of carousing
This was a fun surprise, as while trash pandas are quite common, I have only had a handful of opportunities to photograph them. This past weekend I was staking out a fox spot when the raccoon came ambling along, back to its home in a tree. As it climbed, it paused briefly to check out on the nearby fox to ensure that its neighbor wasn’t going to cause any problems. Once it was sure it safe, it continued its climb and hunkered down in the tree cavity it calls home for a daytime nap to prepare for the next night.
Mama raccoon takes the family on a fishing trip
With only a few, rare exceptions, I have never had much luck getting more than a fleeting glimpse of “trash pandas.” This past weekend a buddy spotted a new family of them out fishing and I raced to get some pics.
Mama raccoon had brought her four little ones to a lake and was busily grabbing crawdads and eating them. The kits stuck to the reeds, only giving brief looks at the four of them and never a good shot of all of them together.
I did manage some nice captures of mom and then of her and three of the little ones though. While not very exotic or exciting creatures, it was a fun photo op.
Raccoon hanging out in the daylight
It isn’t often you will see one of these nocturnal creatures out and about during the day. If you do, there is usually something wrong and sadly, I suspect that is the case with this raccoon.
When I first saw it, I was of course a bit excited to get the opportunity for some pictures. As I snapped away though, it was clear something wasn’t right.
It never even looked at me, never showed any fear. It was completely non-aggressive and just didn’t look okay. Given its symptoms, I suspect it was suffering from distemper.
While I understand things like this are part of nature and I have certainly seen some gruesome stuff, it doesn’t make it any easier, especially given that the poor thing was suffering. I talked to a ranger about it and they were going to investigate and handle accordingly. :'(
Raccoon hides in the grass
It isn’t often I get a chance to photograph these nocturnal creatures. In fact, you could count on one hand the opportunities I had.
This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to see this one as it darted across the road. I slammed my truck in park, jumped out and got all of two pictures before it continue up over the hill and out of view.
Raccoon tests out its camouflage among rocks
So what do you think? Was it successful? 😉 This little guy saw the big guy and his camera and hunkered down, probably hoping I would move on. No such luck for it of course. While raccoons are very common, me getting pictures of them are not. For whatever reason I just can’t seem to find them even when I know where they hang out. Thankfully on this day back in November my persistence paid off.
Little rascal hunkers down, tries to hide
Little rascal hunkers down, tries to hide. Clearly though, I saw it and it saw me. 😉
For such a common type of wildlife, I found getting a good picture of a Raccoon to be a bit of a ‘white whale’ for me. In fact, not only could I not get a good picture, I struggled to even find them despite knowing of places they frequent.
My years’ long quest finally came to an end Saturday. My wife and I were out for a photo drive / hike and I decided to check a spot where I knew they had been spotted and sure enough, I found not only one but four of them! I don’t think they were particularly happy at have the attention of this paparazzi but the cute ones gave me some nice poses in the early morning light.
Portrait of an urban scavenger
Raccoons are notoriously adaptable, able to live in just about any environment – even dense, industrial urban ones. This was proven the case when my friend and co-worker, Ed, alerted me to family of raccoons digging through the dumpsters at our office this morning.
By the time I got back there, all four were in the process of fleeing and the low, pre-dawn light made for very tough shooting conditions. I did manage one decent shot of the one of the adults before the family scampered under a fence and out of view.
While I’ve seen these guys a few times, this is the first time I was able to get a half-way decent picture of one. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for their return in the future.