Teaching the young'uns!

Uh oh!  We could be in trouble come this next winter and I am not referring to the cold weather!  The coons on the hillside seem to be multiplying in droves!  Although they are cute as buttons, baby coons mean adult coons which in turn mean more baby coons!  Add all of these to a place that is already overrun by the critters and it spells trouble!  Don't get me wrong, I like coons.  There is nothing cuter than a baby raccoon trying to figure out how to undo a latch on the bird seed or even an adult raccoon snoozing high up on an oak limb.  They are like furry, fuzzy balls of cuteness!  Yes, they can be an annoyance and even downright mean at times as adults but still if they keep their distance, I am good with them coexisting on the hillside with us.  Still, multitudes of coons means problems..just like multitudes of any animal leads to problems.  The problem comes around mostly during the winter months when food sources come a bit short.  Right now, mealtime comes easy.  A raccoon will eat most anything that suits its taste and with the warm, wet summer we are having, bugs, lizards, frogs, plants, fruits and even rodents are plentiful.  Come wintertime and cold weather, the food will be scarce and many of these young coons will go hungry. If, per chance, the young have not learned to scavenge well, they might even starve.  Death on the Bayou is not choosy..only the strong survive.

One mother coon was teaching her young the fine art of searching for foodstuffs.  She brought her brood of young'uns to the kitchen drain to search for any tidbit that I might have inadvertently washed down the drain.  This area is a virtual smorgasbord of scraps.  I have one of those old cast iron sinks with the wide drains.  Our drain pours out down below the canebrake and scraps are there for the taking.  Any number of critters can be seen making a meal of minuscule bits that were stuck to plates after our meal.  (No, I do not have a dishwasher!)  Mama Raccoon knew that her little ones could find food here.  She also introduced them to the compost pile where, again, there is always a lavish meal set out for those that scavenge.  I know that she is preparing them for the sudden and almost brutal abandonment that she is soon to inflict upon them.  It is her way of saying "You are old enough to be on your own!  I have taught you all you need to know about survival..now be off!  Go make your way in this world!"  With that, she will scurry off and leave the little ones to their own devices.  If they are lucky (and skilled) enough, they will find food and shelter.  They will avoid the dangers of the Bayou..namely the fox, coyote, alligator and even adult male coon.   They will be strong and wary.  If they are lucky and if they learned their lessons well, they will survive.  All of this is difficult enough during good years when there is little competition for food but with the many, many critters suddenly inhabiting the hillside, winter is going to be rough.  Food will be scarce.  The strong will survive..many others will not.  So goes life on the Bayou.  So goes life in general.  Good luck, Little Coons, be strong!