When you think "Raccoon" most of you probably picture this typical black, grey and white ring tailed bandit. (Thanks Razz and Dozer for the pose!)
Who you callin' a bandit!?
But there are some other very unique coonies out there! Like the oh soooo adorable Miss Vicki here. OMG how cute is that baby picture! She's a true albino with white fur and pink eyes.
Here she is all grown up..she totally owns her hooman mom! LOL What a beauty! (although I have to say....that look says mischief to me! LOL)
Another example of a white coonie....but notice the eyes. They are black so not albino, but very cute non the less!
A good example of why white/albino animals of any type around here don't usually last long. Look at how much better this guys sibling blends in. The white one sticks out like a sore thumb...an easier target for predators.
The cuteness continues.....here are some variations of cinnamon or red raccoons. Very cute! Again sometimes found in the wild, but more common with breeders where it is legal to own raccoons as pets. After seeing these pictures, is it any wonder why people want to rush out and get one? Unfortunately most people don't know what they are getting into and they end up stuck in a small cage (or worse) for the rest of their lives. A horrendous tragedy for a coonie!!! It takes a special person to be owned by a raccoon...and you better not care about your house being destroyed!! LOL
My intention is not to make you all go out and get a coonie here...so please don't. Just appreciate the beauty of one of the biggest clowns in the woods!! All to many times people get one...some with the very noble intentions of helping the orphan they come across. They fall in love with it and decide to keep it as a pet instead of getting it to someone with the proper knowledge to care for it. Then it gets bigger and starts to act like a coonie should....getting into everything, roughhousing with teeth and claws and climbing everything....including it's human benefactor! Some just toss it back out into the wild....that juvenile isn't going to fare well. Some finally decide to call a rehabber and now we have our work cut out for us getting that coonie to realize it's a coonie so it can be released. Others have far worse fates....often ripped from the only family they know, very frightened, then euthanized when someone finds out they have been illegally kept by someone without a rehabber permit. So if you really care about that adorable little fella you rescue out there...please get it to someone who knows them well and can best help that baby!!!! Especially if it's a single kit...they need to be with other coonie kids and I can assure you...any rehabber you call that deals with coonies will have more than enough babies for him to join! LOL
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