Last Saturday (Sep 29), we decided that our two little raccoon babies had eaten enough and were getting big enough to fend for themselves. We never intended for them to become "pets," despite the yearnings of my daughter Charissa. It wouldn't have been good for them to remain caged, and it definitely would not have been good for us. It's interesting, though, that this realization was nearly simultaneous with the growing need to deal with the stench of the uncleaned cage...
It took awhile to decide where we would let them go, and then we changed our minds after we got there. We wanted them to have water nearby, but we wanted it to also be a place where there was little proximity to human habitations. We finally selected a "swampish" lowland where they had access to water and relative isolation. We opened the cage door, then walked to a
vantage point about 70 yards away to watch. The kits stayed huddled in the back corner of the cage, hugging each other for security. We scattered some apple slices in front of the cage to draw the out. It was about 8am.
We were worried that it would take hours for them to be willing to venture out of the cage, but it only took about 15 minutes. They came out the door, ignored the food and took of at a brisk walk in a direction opposite us. One following the other, they moved as if they knew exactly where they were going. Within 10 minutes, they were about 200 yards away, where they climbed about 50 feet up a large tree.We are grateful to God for this little week-long interlude with two of his cuter animal creations.
