I poked my head out this morning to check the traps and they were both moved, with one still rattling because my nearness had scared the occupant. OK, so 1 squirrel or 2? It didn't seem likely a critter that small could move both traps. Maybe there really were that many stupid squirrels which would enter an empty trap next to its duplicate with a scared occupant, just to get some nuts. It had happened once....
I didn't like the pictures I'd gotten previously of one of the trapped squirrels, so I popped back inside and grabbed my camera. Since whatever occupant(s) I had kept rattling the traps, I decided to try one from the porch deck rather than approaching on the ground. I wasn't planning to torture them with fright, just relocate them. I first got a shot of how kittywampus the traps were, having been left last night lined up flush with the side of the house, open at opposite ends.
I later decided their corners had tangled together, as the picture plainly showed one door still up. Whatever was literally rattling the cages had some bulk, more than a single squirrel. I decided to zoom in from the same vantage point, and pop the files into my laptop, cropping even more away so I could see what I'd caught.
Boy, did I!
The ball of fur resolved on the near end into two pointed ears, dark top of the head, a tan forehead, black band across the eyes, tan muzzle, and black nose. We had ourselves a racoon!
This was going to be interesting. I had already planned that if I got a squirrel I'd keep it till mid afternoon when two granddaughters were coming over with their mom. If they were interested, I'd invite them to come along and witness the release. I emailed the mom to let her know what was up, since we'd already talked about squirrels.
The sun was beginning to hit the trap so I decided to move it into the shade. Uff Da! I'd thought it was a young coon with a fluffy coat. Turns out this had a short coat with a whole lot of coon inside it. This was a full grown critter, about four times the expected weight even allowing for the change in species, easily capable of unpredictable damage, especially to curious small fingers. Time to call Mom back and share my decision to cancel the adventure, to which she readily agreed.
It would be cruel to keep it caged with so little room to move inside, especially compared to a squirrel, so even having it around any longer then necessary was a no-go. I felt the cage's wire handle digging into my hand for the trip across the front yard to the car. That's it just above the coon's head in the photo, coming out of the plate and tucking back under. My hand still is not perfectly delighted with that particular task. Only one will fit. At least I had the car doors open and ready, also cooling the car down in a rapidly warming, wannabe-summer day in mid September.
I stopped in the usual spot, thinking the ponds around that area were even more of a bonus for the coon than they were for the squirrels. It too had calmed down for classical music on the trip. Schubert this time. But hauling the trap out of the car required more tilting than when it carried a squirrel, and my caution was ramped up a couple notches. It wound up on end on the ground while my thickly gloved hands fiddled with the wires and bars to allow the door to open. I spoke softly to the coon, hoping to keep it calm during the unfortunately bumpy process, and once opened, out it rushed, away from me without a backward look or wasted motion, not only up the hill but partway up the tree at its top as well!
Hooray! I told it to have a good life here, which of course partly translates to don't come back. I had taken a few minutes with Google and found out that yes, they like even more of what's in my gardens than the squirrels do. So seriously, coon, have a happy life in your new home!
Sometime this weekend I'll have to ask my son if he has the time to pop over and put the trap back together. In all its thrashing around, the bar which goes through the trip plate and fastens to the door release got pushed loose and out of the trap by the coon. I left it on the ground during transport. Now it sits on top of the trap so as not to get lost. I'm sure my son can easily look at the intact trap and figure out exactly where it goes back. I might even think of another chore or two......
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