They appeared suddenly one night on our patio, four young raccoons, a quartet of rumble-tumble trouble. They pressed their little bandit faces against our glass sliders, scratching to get inside our tiny cottage. We stared in disbelief, my wife and I – bouncing between “they’re so cute” and “oh, my God, they’re trying to break in.” As their tiny humanoid hands fingered the edges of the glass looking for an opening, we took photos and video. Their antics surely would yield a bounty of Facebook likes and secure our reputation as influencers in the critter category. But as moments turned into hours, they were still pressing and cute turned a little creepy. At one point, all four perched atop the canvas dome of our gazebo, looking down at us, inches from our sliders, like a SWAT team ready to rappel.
We decided they must be on a desperate mission for food, that their mother was dead and her kits had waited for her to return until they could wait no more. While just a theory, these thoughts made them all the more endearing.
Our cottage is one of 275 or so in a community called Chase’s Ocean Grove, hard by Nantucket Sound in Dennis Port, an absolutely lovely place to summer, not just for those of us who live indoors but also for the foxes, squirrels, rabbits, raccoons and skunks that show up now and again ... and again and again. The Grove is open only from early spring to late fall, so we’re still off Cape when they have their babies, and all those empty cottages, underneath said cottages, down the chimneys – you name it -- do just fine as habitat for expanding a family.
Understanding what makes the animal kingdom tick is not always obvious. I had figured the dead stiff skunk on our deck years ago must have succumbed to rabies. Almost certainly not true. There’s been only one case on the entire Cape in the last decade. Baby foxes poking out from under the neighbor’s cottage seasons ago had me believing we were on the verge of a fox invasion. I didn’t see a single one the next summer.
And the theory about our raccoon visitors being hungry orphans … Well, maybe not, according a true expert: Zak Mertz, CEO of the New England Wildlife Centers, one in Weymouth, the other in Barnstable. Just as easily they could have been out for a night of teen-age hijinks with momma not far away. With those nimble hands, raccoons are one of the most dexterous animals on the planet, Zak said. Funny Zak should bring that up. During their appearance with us, one of them snatched my favorite leather sandals and dragged them way under the cottage … going, going, gone.
The morning after their visit, I researched best methods for making sure they wouldn’t return. I settled on rags drenched in ammonia and left out on the patio. Vinegar, onion slices or even a radio blasting music are also known to do the trick.
I haven't spotted them since. Neither have I seen my favorite sandals.
Of the 100 calls Zak’s folks get each day about critter problems during the busy season, only a third are angry callers. The others seem to realize our furry neighbors deserve our kindness and respect.
Let me tell you about respect. It’s a two-way street. First thing, I’m going to need my sandals back.
