Sheriff’s deputies in Washington’s Kitsap County frequently get calls about animals — loose livestock, problem dogs. But the 911 call they received recently from a woman being hounded by dozens of raccoons swarming her home near Poulsbo stood out.
The woman reported having had to flee her property after 50 to 100 raccoons descended upon it and were acting aggressively, said Kevin McCarty, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office. She told deputies she started feeding a family of raccoons decades ago and it was fine until about six weeks earlier, when the number showing up went from a handful to around 100.
Legit question for rural Americans - how do I kill the 50-100 feral raccoons that run into my yard within 3-5 mins while my small kids play
Trenches and barbed wire.
Yeah. Go full Leiningen on them!
Edit: Wow, I never read that Wikipedia page before. That story has 100% more inspiration from Hitler than I was ever taught about in school. They didn’t even tell us the author was German.
Raccoons: “We are no longer asking.”
Here is what happened when the police showed up
This is why you don’t feed the wildlife.
… what did I just watch…?
Pompoko, sometimes subtitled “The Raccoon War.”
That scene is among the least zany things that happen in it. You should check it out; it is absolutely worth a watch. Especially if you’re into Japanese mythology and yōkai. So in that vein, I’m going to throw down some nerd trivia, now.
Yes, those raccoons (tanuki, actually) were attacking people with their balls. This is consistent with Japanese folklore.
The tanuki are Japanese racoon dogs, are traditionally tricksters, and are said to have shapeshifting powers. Mario’s raccoon and “tanooki” suit (arguably misspelled in the English translation) is based on this:
This includes the ability to turn into a statue…
…which is something that the tanuki also do in the movie, or attempt to do, with varying success:
Note also how they use their, er, sacks to glide. Does that remind you of anything?
You’ll never look at him the same way ever again.
Amazing stuff!
Pompoko. A Studio Ghibli movie.
Never, ever, EVER feed the Trash Pandas.
Don’t put out food for any wildlife.
Some people just don’t know what to do with swarms of loyal animals…
She missed a grand opportunity to fence off the area, create a raccoon preserve, and charge people to feed them pellets of food she’ll also sell them. Raccoons are adorable, she probably could have gotten enough money to fight the eventual lawsuit after one of’em bites a kid
Her husband:
And I thought the one raccoon we had to get removed from our attic was a problem…
I got jumped by 3 raccoons last year. Got scratched and had to get rabies shots. I leave a fresh duck egg out every night and the raccoons leave me and my trash alone now. I can’t imagine trying to strike a deal with 100 of the fuckers.
