Raccoons are probably the most annoying, disgusting, and destrive animals on the entire North American continent.
This is the raccoon (Procyon lotor) in the raccoon exhibit in Toronto Zoo.
The picture above is the ‘exhibit’ raccoon in the Toronto Zoo, but there are dozens of these creatures roaming the grounds of the zoo — it is just hard to take a picture of them, they move around so fast that by the time I take out my camera they are usually gone. The picture below is one of them on the roof of a building on the zoo grounds.
Raccoons will dig through your garbage preferably throwing stuff all over the place, they will also take apart your house, kill your pets, spread rabies to your children and try to make your life miserable any way they can.
Needless to say that as part of the local wildlife raccoons enjoy a lot of privileges that less nasty critters, or even people in most countries, can only dream of. In lots of places it is illegal to kill a raccoon, or even take then far away from your house so they cannot get back and continue the mayhem and destruction. Makes one think that the whole world has gone insane — or at least humans certainly have.
Raccoons (Procyon lotor), Veszprém Zoo.
It is amazing what expenses people are forced to endure in order to raccoon proof their houses, when for a fraction of the costs these nasty pests could be just exterminated — of course that would be illegal e.g. here in Toronto, “the raccoon capital of the world” for some reason that defies all logic. If this sort of nonsense is not curbed one day all pest control will be illegal and people will not even be able to get rid of rats and mice gnawing away in their houses — it is not very clear if they still can. Makes one wonder who makes these laws anyway and how they manage to get elected — considering that raccoons, coyotes and geese don’t actually have the vote, the humans whose life they make miserable, do.
Further Readings:
Rabies Vector Species – How To Tell if a Raccoon is Rabid.
The Raccoon Rabies Epidemic.
Rabies in Raccoons.
Wildlife in the City: Raccoons City of Toronto.
Is it illegal to kill a raccoon?
Time to start culling Toronto’s nasty raccoons.
Alleged raccoon killing attempt leads to arrest – Toronto – CBC News.
Man arrested for allegedly attempting to kill raccoons with a shovel National Post.