Though we see "Marshmallow" almost nightly, we've also seen two quite-huge raccoons on several occasions. The first time we saw this "poor thing" with no tail, we worried about what might have happened. Seeing as how it has a bottom like a Koala, and no sign of a dismembered tail, Ken Googled "Tailless Raccoons" and found this one is not a singular anomaly! I do suppose they're somewhat rare, as I've seen many and none like this, so add it to our list of "Critters in the Peaceable Kingdom"!
@joysfocus@pamknowler It was Ken who first noticed this one when we had a pair of raccoons in the yard. Both were huge, and I suspect, Marshmallow's parents. I'm fascinated that we should have attracted one so unusual! Thanks for the comments!
I am amazed at the variety of things I learn on this site! Tailless raccoons!?!? That is very interesting! Very nice shot of Chappy! I want to give you an update on the squirrels and sunflower seeds since my last squirrel photo....TOTAL SUCCESS! The tree squirrels are active at their feeder all day and now the rock squirrels have emerged and are making their appearances. It's funny, the squirrels now do not bother with the bird feeders at all but the cardinals visit the squirrel feeder regularly since they love sunflower seeds. The finches have now found their sock feeder and so everyone is getting along beautifully. :-)
@gaylewood Oh Gayle, I'm absolutely ecstatic to read all this! The cardinals will love sharing the seeds with the squirrels...win/win for both of them! And they don't need to bother the feeders now that they have something they love! Perhaps I should send you my "Squirrel Whisperer" t-shirt! And I'm more than happy to share my "peaceable kingdom" tag for your photos! What could be nicer than to have so many happy groupings! Congratulations!
@gilbertwood What could be more fun than to learn something new and pass it along! If it weren't for 365, I might have finally figured out that the tailless raccoon was "unusual" but what's the fun of knowing that while living in a vacuum?!
Some of those pictures were surely from drug-induced nightmares! (That toothy squirrel in particular!) We had a manx cat so I'm certainly open to the possibilities.
@allie912 uh...yah! I wanted to share that this, in fact, is a raccoon born this way, but that many of the images were "not raccoons"...and you may have pointed out the obvious!
@Weezilou When author David A. Adler spent the day with us, we asked him why he used his middle initial and he said to make finding him on the internet easier. He told us about a school he had visited that had a display of his books including several photos of him. When he looked more closely at the display, he scrutinized the photos and asked "Who is that?" "Oh we googled your name and got your picture online!" Only trouble, it wasn't David Adler the author but some business man. So now he adds the middle initial to make it a little easier to find the right man!
@allie912 He's absolutely correct! And it won't get any easier as years go by, I don't suppose! Knowing a bit about you, you probably have a number of "hats", but Allison Williams-Richmond Grade School Librarian might have a good chance to pointing toward you! (Of course, "back when", we women gave up our last names at marriage, and so we're ever harder to find, I think!
He is a cute chappy
@teiko Thank you, too, Emilie! I never expected anything like this!