Does Anyone Know About Raccoons?

[weebeasties]

Since moving here 7 years ago we have seen raccoons. They only come out at night. We learned quickly to put up our birdfeeders at dusk and return them to the trees every morning. A bit of a hassle for us, but no big deal. Since hurricane Irma passed through however, we have a raccoon that comes out all the time during the day. It's always trying to get to the birdfeeders. I just wanted to know why it's coming out in the daytime. It seems wierd that after 7 years this is the first time we have had this issue. Is this unusual behavior?

 

[dahli6]

It's home and food storages were probably destroyed. Call animal control and report it just in case it might be sick.

 

[Kat0121]

They are nocturnal by nature but they will come out during the day sometimes. I have seen them out in the daytime too. There's rest stop right off I 95 near here and I have seen quite a few of them. Someone had left dry dog food on a tarp for them and they were having a feast. This was in the afternoon. I guess if they are hungry enough they will come out at any time.

 

[neely]

We have a neighbor a few doors down that puts out bread, buns and donuts for the wildlife nearby. Needless to say we have seen an occasional raccoon in the daytime and last week found a coyote in our backyard.

 

[CatsAreTheBest]

We had a raccoon that came and ate some cat food in our backyard at around 9 pm.

 

[tinydestroyer]

It is definitely common for wildlife to be acting unusually after a hurricane, or probably any other natural disaster. After Katrina, we had racoons, nutria, and possums (all supposedly nocturnal,) roaming around at weird times. Not sure if they're drawn out by their habitats being damaged, or the food that people are having to get rid of with electricity being down, or if they're just feeling out of sync. They are more aggressive when threatened, though, so a call to animal control might be in order. I hope you and yours are ok after Irma!

 

[muffy]

I feed the raccoons cat food, muffins and fruit. They come out at night but sometimes I will see one in the daytime. When I see them in the daytime I think they are just looking for food.

Muffy