Raccoon Whisperer

[Debi]

Canadian "Raccoon Whisperer" Has Been Feeding Wild Raccoons Every Night for Over 20 Years

James Blackwood, a retired Mounted Police Officer from Nova Scotia, calls himself a "Raccoon Whisperer", a worthy title, considering that he has been feeding dozens of them every night, for over two decades.

www.odditycentral.com

OMG...this is so adorable

 

[Northern_Emp]

One of my life goals is to live out in the country... for exactly this reason.

 

[Black Cloud]

I once had a pet raccoon. It loved to sit on my shoulder while I walked around.

 

[Walking Goose]

I once had a pet raccoon. It loved to sit on my shoulder while I walked around.

Is it true that they are unpredictable BC ? I woke up to one staring me in the eye from the fire place many times until i had the pipe covered. They woud open the screen door to my basement also. They are so smart and cute. Can you make them into a pet? just wondering because I believe some people say you cant tame them? I think that is really cool you had a racoon on your shoulder .

 

[Black Cloud]

It’s a funny story. I was at a carnival at the age of 13. One of the game operators had a raccoon in his booth. A police officer told him he couldn’t keep it. I was standing there watching things and the carnie asked me if I wanted it. Of course, I wanted it. He put it on my shoulder and the police officer said I had to leave the carnival with it. I walked home with it sitting on my shoulder. It was no more mischievous than a cat. I ended up selling it to a friend of my older brother for 50 dollars.

 

[TexDanm]

A raccoon in nature is more like a cat than a dog. Can you tame them? Yes, up to the point where they tell you what they want and you do it...pretty much like "owning" a cat. They are very smart and if you get them when they are just kits they can be very friendly and affectionate friends but like a cat, they are also independent rascals. Possums actually make good pets and are amazingly sweet little animals if raised in contact with humans. I used to have a customer that was the animal lady for the county and when little animals were orphaned the various authorities would bring the babies to her. You never knew what she would have running around in her house.

I had another customer that had "trained" the local squirrels to do "circus" tricks for food in his backyard. I started with him trying to keep the squirrels from getting into his bird feeder. After a while watching the squirrels manage to get around his various things to keep them out of the bird feeder became more entertaining than the birds so he just kept adding things for them to do to get to the food. It was like a looooong complex agility track for them to run around on and play on. For example, he ran a cable from a tree to a tall post with a feeder on it. the squirrels would just run out on that cable and eat. Then he put little foot long pieces of PVC pipe on the cable and they had to go on those hanging underneath. then he put plastic plates between the PVC plastic so they had to swing under and over those plates. In the evening when he would put out the food it really was like a three-ring circus.