Apparently a mother with two cubs large raccoon of indeterminate gender felt crowded by another ‘coon and applied its considerable powers of persuasion (screeching and clawing, mostly) to make the point. Got me and my neighbors outside to see what the ruckus was (I had never heard anything like it, though I have seen some of the masked bandits about).
I brought out a really bright halogen worklight that picked them out quite easily: the victor was quite a specimen and clearly wasn’t going anywhere. The vanquished, smaller but still a good size, backed down the tree and around the side of our house, in search of unprotected cat and dog food dishes.
A good story for school tomorrow . . .
[Posted with ecto]
Raccoons Life Cycle:
“Breeding occurs between January and March, and peaks in February. “
My neighbor said he thought it was a mother with young, but apparently we’re a bit early for that. This looks to have been mating (or resistance to it).