A woman in Washington state thought she was doing raccoons a favor by feeding them, until a whole mob of the furry bandits showed up and drove her out of her home.
The woman jumped into her car and fled on Oct. 3, after about 100 raccoons invaded her property, aggressively demanding food, the Kitsap County, Washington, Sheriff’s Office reported.
After fleeing, the woman called the sheriff’s office, pleading for help.
Luckily, the woman didn’t suffer a mass raccoon mauling. She was apparently uninjured and in good health when she was interviewed by deputies for sheriff’s office video.
In the video, she and deputies are back on her property, with the raccoon mob still there. The sheriff’s office didn’t release the woman’s name or show her in the video.
Deputies are currently working with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to try to find a solution to the woman’s raccoon quandary, according to the sheriff’s office.
Will Probably End Badly For The Raccoons
The Washington raccoon debacle is an example of why feeding wild animals is a bad idea, a Wyoming wildlife rescuer said.
“They’re going to get aggressive and they’re going to get pushy and they’re going to get territorial,” Patricia Wyer told Cowboy State Daily.
Wyer is director of the Broken Bandit Wildlife Center east of Cheyenne. She’s taken in numerous wayward raccoons and other small wildlife.
Most of the animals are rehabilitated and returned to the wild. She’s had to keep a few permanently, usually because they suffered disabling injuries.
But with 100 or so raccoons having invaded the Washington woman’s home, there might not be a way to spare those animals, Wyer said.
“The raccoons are probably going to end up paying the price,” she said.
Raccoons Gathered In Their Masses
The woman told deputies that she had been feeding raccoons at her place near the town of Poulsbo, about 20 miles northwest of Seattle, for more than 30 years, according to the sheriff’s office.
However, about six weeks ago, their numbers ballooned and they started getting mean.
“The woman says the racoons often surround her day and night, demanding food,” the sheriff’s office reported.
Despite the woman having a long streak of good luck with the raccoons, the outcome was inevitable, Wyer said.
“They do grow in numbers, they always grow in numbers,” she said.
Though they don’t have social media accounts, raccoons do have a social network.
“One of them goes back out into the wild and tells a friend, ‘Follow me, I know where to get food,’” she said.
Wyer said wild animals in Wyoming might be seeking food after a hot and dry summer here.
So, if Washington State had similar conditions, it could explain why raccoons began gathering in masses at the woman’s home.
“I would be like, ‘Hey, everybody, there’s food and water over there, let’s go!’” Wyer said.
Wildlife Agencies: Feeding Animals Dooms Them
It’s not only raccoons; people shouldn’t feed any wildlife, Wyer said. It can put people in danger, and it’s not good for the animals.
“Any wildlife, once you start feeding them, they lose their natural ability to take care of themselves,” she said.
State wildlife agencies in Wyoming and Montana also discourage feeding wildlife.
Wild animals drawn in by easy pickings in settled areas often end up getting killed, according to Wyoming Game and Fish.
“The animals are continually crossing roads where they are hit by vehicles or chased, and sometimes killed, by homeowners’ dogs,” according to a Game and Fish statement against feeding wildlife.
“Just being in close proximity to humans generally elevates the stress on these animals,” the agency added.
Food that people might think is fine for wildlife such as deer might actually doom the animals to an agonizing death. That’s according to an article titled “Death By Feeding” from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP).
“The high-carb foods can cause an overgrowth of bacteria in the stomach that produces lactic acid, which leads to inflammation, abscesses, and ulcers in the stomach wall,” the article states.
“The inflamed wall can no longer absorb nutrients, and the lactic acid leaks from the rumen into the bloodstream, destroying cells and tissues and eventually causing death,” according to FWP.
‘Let Them Be Wild’
Many of the racoons and other animals that Wyer takes in end up at the center because somebody started feeding them.
Folks might think raccoons are cute when they’re young, during the spring and early summer. They might be tempted to start feeding one, thinking they can bond with it, she said.
But about this time of year, raccoons start to mature, and the previously “cute” animal turn vicious, she said.
“A raccoon is a raccoon. They will always be a wild animal,” Wyer said.
Once raccoons and other animals are conditioned to getting food from humans, it’s extremely difficult to break that habit and rehabilitate them to return to the wild, she said.
“Don’t do it. Don’t feed them, because you are literally hurting them. Big heart, bleeding heart – you’re still taking away what’s natural for those animals,” Wyer said.
“It might sound harsh, but it’s true. If you love them as much as you say you do, let them be wild,” she added.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
