Raccoons in my yard?
So how about this news story? (seen on another Ng).....
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cumbria/3536063.stm Perhaps some of us will soon need to know what to do about them! -- Regards Bob Use a useful Screen Saver... http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/ and find intelligent life amongst the stars |
Raccoons in my yard?
On Sat, 10 Apr 2004 14:58:59 +0100, Bob Hobden wrote:
So how about this news story? (seen on another Ng)..... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cumbria/3536063.stm Perhaps some of us will soon need to know what to do about them! Wild raccoons in Britain? You think grey squirrels were a menace? Just wait. -- Rodger Whitlock Victoria, BC, Canada "Raccoon City" |
Raccoons in my yard?
In article , "Bob Hobden" writes: | "Rodger wrote in message after me... | : | So how about this news story? (seen on another Ng)..... | | http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cumbria/3536063.stm | | Perhaps some of us will soon need to know what to do about them! | | Wild raccoons in Britain? | | You think grey squirrels were a menace? Just wait. | | Yes, I've already read about the problems in Germany. | http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_885832.html | | http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm...ld.animaltales | | worrying isn't it. Not overwhelmingly. There are at most two species of mammal that have lived in the UK for more than 10,000 years - fox and mountain (blue) hare. All others have introduced themselves or been introduced. I don't know how well raccoons (or coatis, for that matter) will be able to take the winters. Like many plants, some mammals which are adapted to cold aren't very good at taking long, dark, wet winters. They probably would survive in some areas, but it isn't certain. I don't know how they handle winters in north America. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
Raccoons in my yard?
"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message | Not overwhelmingly. There are at most two species of mammal that have lived in the UK for more than 10,000 years - fox and mountain (blue) hare. All others have introduced themselves or been introduced. I don't know how well raccoons (or coatis, for that matter) will be able to take the winters. Like many plants, some mammals which are adapted to cold aren't very good at taking long, dark, wet winters. They probably would survive in some areas, but it isn't certain. I don't know how they handle winters in north America. They survive up to southern Canada in the same way that Grey Squirrels do, they store fat for the winter and sleep out the really bad days but get active again in any mild spell. They certainly seem to have a big problem with them in some parts of Germany, introduced in the 1930s, and now they are moving into Austria. -- Regards Bob Use a useful Screen Saver... http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/ and find intelligent life amongst the stars |
Raccoons in my yard?
On 13 Apr 2004 07:37:59 GMT, Nick Maclaren wrote:
I don't know how well raccoons (or coatis, for that matter) will be able to take the winters. Like many plants, some mammals which are adapted to cold aren't very good at taking long, dark, wet winters. They probably would survive in some areas, but it isn't certain. I don't know how they handle winters in north America. The raccoon is native to a very wide swathe of North America and handles long, dark, wet winters with complete aplomb. They actually do better in an urban environment than out in the country. Main disadvantages of raccoons: they can carry rabies; they will eat all the cherries off your tree; they will eat all your corn before it's quite ripe (not that corn is a common crop in the UK); they can destroy a cat with ease, and even dogs are at risk. However, I've only once had a cat injured by a coon; they take a live-and-let-live attitude most of the time. You'll know if you have them by the droppings they leave at the base of trees. Evidently, they defecate as they climb up the trunk. -- Rodger Whitlock Victoria, British Columbia, Canada [change "atlantic" to "pacific" and "invalid" to "net" to reply by email] |
Raccoons in my yard?
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Raccoons in my yard?
In article , Emery Davis writes: | | Don't think they need the cold; we had them in San Francisco, where | is certainly never freezes (at least not in the 4 years I lived there). Lots of | sub-tropical vegetation. Also in Boston, where it gets very chilly indeed, | so they seem quite adaptable. In SF they were active all winter long, | dratted things. The problem in the UK is about four months of dark, wet conditions, wandering around freezing point. The darkness means that plants don't grow much, and so there is little food, the erratic temperatures block hibernation, and the wetness means that it is difficult to keep warm. San Francisco is half-way to the tropics, starting from the UK. The only place in north America with a comparable climate is the coastal strip between Vancouver and Anchorage. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
Raccoons in my yard?
On 14 Apr 2004 09:22:29 GMT, Nick Maclaren wrote:
The problem in the UK is about four months of dark, wet conditions, wandering around freezing point. The darkness means that plants don't grow much, and so there is little food, the erratic temperatures block hibernation, and the wetness means that it is difficult to keep warm. San Francisco is half-way to the tropics, starting from the UK. The only place in north America with a comparable climate is the coastal strip between Vancouver and Anchorage. Actually, that description applies pretty well to the Pacific coast right down into California. To steer this thread back on-topic, an anecdote: In 1987, I bought a small specimen of Chaenomeles 'Contorta' at the famous Western Hills Nursery, in Occidental, California. (Maps, everyone!) Two years later I was there again and asked how their parent plant was doing. Answer, not well, winters too wet! Here in Victoria, we're in something of a rain shadow from the Sooke Hills, so we're evidently rather drier than Occidental. That little sprig is now a flourishing shrub, one of the highlights of my late winter gardcen. It was very interesting, driving to Occidental. As you wound along the country lanes[1] leading to the nursery, you suddenly passed from the dry grassy hillsides we associate with California into a zone of vegetation just like we have here on Vancouver Island: salal, Douglas fir, etc. It was like a line drawn on a map: a very sharp and sudden change. So I think, Nick, that in real life, you'll find that the area immediately along the coast is pretty awful in winter right down into California. Remember that most of the way, there's a range of hills or mountains just inland, and that tends to increase precipitation. At any rate, the raccoon is an extremely adaptable animal and I'm sure it'll soon be naturalized all across Britain. [1] "Country lanes" -- that area west of Santa Rosa to the coast has been settled a long time and is a maze of little roads that wander in no particular direction, and constitute a maze you need a good map to navigate successfully. I suspect Britons would feel right at home in this particular. -- Rodger Whitlock Victoria, British Columbia, Canada [change "atlantic" to "pacific" and "invalid" to "net" to reply by email] |
Raccoons in my yard?
On 14 Apr 2004 07:25:52 GMT, Nick Maclaren wrote:
Are they widespread in the coastal strip stretching from Vancouver to Anchorage, because that is the only patch that HAS anything like long, dark, WET winters? The point is that many hibernation and semi-hibernation techniques don't work in the UK, because of the unreliable cold in the winter. According to the distribution map in Roger Caras's "North American Mammals", raccoons only get up the coast some ways north of Vancouver, and then nada. Not in Alaska, evidently. But here in Victoria, we have oodles, and our winters are long, wet, dark, and definitely have unreliable cold -- as you so well phrase it. Shall I ship you a container of raccoons? They probably could naturalise here, but it isn't certain. Some cold-winter animals have trouble. If life in the countryside isn't congenial, they'll simply move into the cities. | Main disadvantages of raccoons: they can carry rabies; they will | eat all the cherries off your tree; they will eat all your corn | before it's quite ripe (not that corn is a common crop in the | UK); they can destroy a cat with ease, and even dogs are at risk. Not all that different from a fox, in most of those respects. Raccoons present one additional problem: they look cute[1] with their black masks. You can make a pet out of one if you start when it's young, but when it grows, it's not entirely trustworthy. [1] "Cute" as in squealingly announced "O he's s-o-o-o-o c-u-t-e!" by dim & clueless members of the female sex. Fortunately, no female urgler falls into that category. -- Rodger Whitlock Victoria, British Columbia, Canada [change "atlantic" to "pacific" and "invalid" to "net" to reply by email] |
Raccoons in my yard?
In article ,
Rodger Whitlock wrote: On 14 Apr 2004 09:22:29 GMT, Nick Maclaren wrote: The problem in the UK is about four months of dark, wet conditions, wandering around freezing point. The darkness means that plants don't grow much, and so there is little food, the erratic temperatures block hibernation, and the wetness means that it is difficult to keep warm. San Francisco is half-way to the tropics, starting from the UK. The only place in north America with a comparable climate is the coastal strip between Vancouver and Anchorage. Actually, that description applies pretty well to the Pacific coast right down into California. Well, relatively. It isn't as dark. Our southernmost point is comparable to Vancouver, and we stretch north. The section below Vancouver corresponds more to Brittany and the bay of Biscay. Yes, I know that there is a southerly current, so the Pacific coast of the USA is colder than the comparable latitude in Europe. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
Raccoons in my yard?
In article ,
Rodger Whitlock wrote: On 14 Apr 2004 07:25:52 GMT, Nick Maclaren wrote: Are they widespread in the coastal strip stretching from Vancouver to Anchorage, because that is the only patch that HAS anything like long, dark, WET winters? The point is that many hibernation and semi-hibernation techniques don't work in the UK, because of the unreliable cold in the winter. According to the distribution map in Roger Caras's "North American Mammals", raccoons only get up the coast some ways north of Vancouver, and then nada. Not in Alaska, evidently. They shouldn't have much trouble in southern England, then, but might find Scotland a bit harsh. But here in Victoria, we have oodles, and our winters are long, wet, dark, and definitely have unreliable cold -- as you so well phrase it. Shall I ship you a container of raccoons? Well, as you know, I really want a few cougar and some wolves :-) They probably could naturalise here, but it isn't certain. Some cold-winter animals have trouble. If life in the countryside isn't congenial, they'll simply move into the cities. Seems reasonable to me. That lot need some stirring up. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
Raccoons in my yard?
"Nick wrote in message after Rodger wrote: They shouldn't have much trouble in southern England, then, but might find Scotland a bit harsh. I happen to live in Southern England, thank's Nick. Ringed Necked Parakeets by the hundred I can cope with but Raccoons, I'm not so sure. I suppose it's all to do with our wonderful multi-cultural society, why leave the animals out. Well, as you know, I really want a few cougar and some wolves :-) Not heard of any Wolves yet but the Cougars may well be here already, and some Eurpoean Linx and........what was that on the CCTV at the Swan Sanctuary? If life in the countryside isn't congenial, they'll simply move into the cities. Seems reasonable to me. That lot need some stirring up. The foxes do OK in cities until an outbreak of disease so Raccoons will too, they have in Germany. -- Regards Bob Use a useful Screen Saver... http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/ and find intelligent life amongst the stars |
Raccoons in my yard?
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Raccoons in my yard?
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