Masked Bandit

Here at Dobbs' Retreat we're used to seeing lots of deer and turkey; last fall a moose visited and once I even saw a cub bear standing at the rim of our property like he owned the place. But yesterday when I looked out my window and saw a racoon looking back at me I was completely captivated by his deep, dark colored eyes peering through his trademark black mask. I was reminded of the mask Don Diego wore after transforming himself into Zorro and wondered if he didn't get the idea for his famous mask from Raccoon, the original 'masked' bandit.

I've read about raccoons, but have never seen one up close and personal. I was surprised at his large size, bigger than my Beagle, Sam and Missy, our Australian Shepherd. His foxlike face is handsome and tapers to a pointed muzzle; his bushy ringed tail is beautiful and I'm sure considered very fashionable in the animal world.

The name raccoon is derived from the Indian word 'Aroughcun', which translates, 'he who scratches with his hands'. Although I didn't see him use his hands to do any scraching, I did observe his cautious nature as he slyly moved from one hiding spot to another, and his climbing agility as he quickly scampered up a tree when Sam and Missy got whiff of his scent.

I recalled hearing that the intelligence and dexterity is such that a raccoon can pick an avocado from a tree, aim and throw it at a barking dog. I watched for a few minutes hoping our travelling raccoon wouldn't start bombarding Missy and Sam with pinecones, then remembered that raccoons have five toes on both their forepaws and hind feet giving them the ability to open all kinds of things including zippers, trash cans and unlocked doorknobs. Yikes ! All of a sudden watching for pelting pinecones became less important while locked doors became a priority. I had a strong sense the wandering raccoon made a better outside visitor than an indoor intruder.