Baby Time

I was surprised to look through the wildlife cam photos and find baby raccoons.
Usually the babies don’t show until the first week of June. Based on the date these were two weeks ahead of schedule. They look pretty chunky for babies, too. I think someone’s been holding out.

But it is baby season. Gary complained that he put out half a bag of peanuts and they were all gone the next day. Usually this means that Gary will put out an entire bag the next night, but he said, and I quote, “screw those piggy little babies.”

There had been some drama deep in the night when another mama had to defend a baby that had just done something indefensible.

In contrast to the chubby baby raccoons, at dusk I have been seeing the tiniest baby squirrels ever. I read that you rarely see small squirrels, because they don’t leave the nest until they have fur. I take that to mean they have to hit puberty. Well, this year we have four tiny peach-fuzz squirrels out here. Size of baby kittens, if you don’t count the tail.

Raccoon babies too big, squirrel babies too small. That should go in the Farmer’s Almanac as signs of a global pandemic.

Comments

[Lynn]

Animal posts! I love seeing the animal video and living vicariously through your backyard. Do you ever see them during the day? Or do they only gather there at night? Do your neighbours come out to watch, or do they have no idea such a great show is nearby?

[TheQueen]

Lynn - when the mothers are nursing they come out at dusk and dawn because they are so hungry they can’t wait till dawn. We do have neighbors who watch, but they mainly notice the opossums, and squirrels enjoying themselves during the day.