Raccoons!

[alexxkay]

 On my way back from Poke-hunting tonight, at half past midnight, I saw a pack of four or so critters crossing the street about a block ahead of me. Two more stragglers crossed a minute later, by which time I had gotten close enough to positively ID them as raccoons. As much as I love squirrels, it's nice to occasionally spot something bigger in the wild.

Comments

[sovay]

I saw a pack of four or so critters crossing the street about a block ahead of me. Two more stragglers crossed a minute later, by which time I had gotten close enough to positively ID them as raccoons.

Nice!

(Is that a lot of raccoons to be traveling together at the same time? I guess they were just coming back from the same party.)

[alexxkay]

I don't know. Let's see what Wikipedia says...

"Though previously thought to be solitary, there is now evidence that raccoons engage in gender-specific social behavior. Related females often share a common area, while unrelated males live together in groups of up to four animals to maintain their positions against foreign males during the mating season, and other potential invaders. [...] two to five young, known as "kits", are born in spring. The kits are subsequently raised by their mother until dispersal in late fall."

[metahacker]

I've had a hunting party of four raccoons make a raid on our bird feeder (two knock it over, one starts gathering seed, fourth was the "lookout"...)--the cat was quite peeved--and recently had to chase a pack of five young kits off our porch. So it happens, I guess.