Raccoon that was too comfortable in my yard

[Florida_Man]

My dog chased this one off a few nights ago and I was worried she was injured the noise that came from the dark yard. Luckily she was unscathed. So I turned the notifications on. He spooked off yesterday night before I got a shot, not so lucky this evening.
Snowpeak P35 25 cal 35 FPE with 25gr FX pellets. 18 yards. Pard DS35. The IR light is from a spotlight the illuminates most of my yard.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[Ezana4CE]

@Florida_Man That’ll hold him. Good shot placement! The Pard image quality seems pretty decent too.

 

[Florida_Man]

@Florida_Man That’ll hold him. Good shot placement! The Pard image quality seems pretty decent too.

That’s just with the IR floodlight set up over my yard. The floodlight is set up 20 yards away, attached to my house. If I turn on the onboard or use a separate illuminator, it’s a lot better.

 

[Ezana4CE]

@Florida_Man I figured there was something else at play concerning the lighting.

 

[Luis Leon]

So did this raccoon become “too comfortable” because it was coming in to feed at your attractive bait station? If you put out a food source… Critters will come, for me being selective on which critters to cull? Particularly when I’m inviting them into my yard has become difficult. Have shot many pest critters off my bird feeders in the past. But no longer pick winners and losers in my backyard. At the permissions, zero mercy for same critters depending on what they are doing. Starling feeding on the manure pile? May get a pass, over starlings coming into the hoop house to steal feed. Same birds roosting at night, game on, zero mercy… For the record my wife is freaked out by raccoons, their little hands…

 

[Florida_Man]

I agree, I only put feed out in the morning and enough for the day. I know the smell is still there and a few sunflowers. I have seen an uptick in rodents, opossums and raccoons since my ruralish suburban neighborhood allowed people to keep chickens. I even heard coyote last summer in the empty lot next to mine. Over the last few months the opossums have gone to zero, and that’s very peculiar because they have been very common over the years. I leave them be since they’re the only ones that will eat rats I kill. So I have a feeling a different neighbor is targeting them. I was trying to trap a feral cat last year. For about two weeks I would set the trap, and about every night I’d catch an opossum. I’m sure a few were the same because i would just free them in the morning. But I caught zero feral cats.
The rodents I get are more random throughout the night, the raccoons and opossums definitely have a feeding routine they get in. The main thoroughfare the runs along one edge of my community always has roadkill. The other side of the road is all cattle pasture.