The raccoon party bus!

How awesome is this?

A photo of raccoons lining up for a bus on the MUNI #18 46 Ave line at the California Place of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco-by Plomo Media. So this is what raccoon rush hour looks like......LOL. I love it!!

photo by Plomo media

http://www.flickr.com/people/swthomson/

Willie update

Willie is doing great in the big pen with all the babies. His back is pretty much healed and it looks like the eye may not be far behind. The swelling is finally down enough to the point where it looks like the eye is starting to crack open again! The foot still looks like hamburger but it is healing. One toe is crooked up a little. It was probably broken and that's the way it's going to heal...but he's using it fine! The foot looks a little gooey-er than usual here because I took the picture after putting some granulex liquid on it to help the healing process.

I totally forgot to mention I ran into Tosser on Oct. 29th! I haven't seen him in a while, then one night just before dark I'm filling one of the feeders and he appeared. Scared the crap out of me too I might add! I'm standing on a chair checking the feeder. Then I turn to scoop some food out of the bucket and when I turn back to put it in the feeder....there he was sitting there next to the feeder! Surprise! It's a miracle I didn't fall backwards off the chair when I startled! Never even heard him and suddenly there he was at eye level no more than a foot away! LOL He looks great and healthy, and like Mo he's a little more shy now. Not as skittish as Mo...he sat comfortably right next to me while I was there but he wouldn't take treats out of my hand...I had to put them down first, and he would sniff my fingers but would start to move away if I made any attempt to pet him. He's not a mamma's boy anymore, but that's ok....I'm just thrilled to be able to share a moment with him and see he's doing well! Not bad for a raccoon thrown out of a car window and left to die on the sidewalk! Yet another moment that reminds me why I do this! (sigh...warm fuzzy moment!)

Snacking on chicken wings.

Here we have some pics of the gang enjoying their chicken wings!

LOL! Just kidding......well sort of! When I enter that pen with chicken wings this is exactly what it's like! I have to protect my fingers and limbs big time...they turn from Muppet's into Tasmanian devils instantly!

While on the topic....here's a little info from National Geographic on Taz, now on the endangered list due to a contagious cancer spreading like wildfire among the few that are left!

Once abundant throughout Australia Tasmanian devils are now indigenous only to the island state of Tasmania. Their Tasmanian range encompasses the entire island, although they are partial to coastal scrublands and forests. Biologists speculate that their extinction on the mainland is attributable to the introduction of Asian dogs, or dingoes.
Efforts in the late 1800s to eradicate Tasmanian devils, which farmers erroneously believed were killing livestock (although they were known to take poultry), were nearly successful. In 1941, the government made devils a protected species, and their numbers have grown steadily since.

Survival Threatened
Tragically, though, a catastrophic illness discovered in the mid-1990s has killed tens of thousands of Tasmanian devils. Called devil facial tumor disease (DFTD), this rapidly spreading condition is a rare contagious cancer that causes large lumps to form around the animal's mouth and head, making it hard for it to eat. The animal eventually starves to death. Animal health experts are sequestering populations where the disease has not yet appeared and are focusing on captive breeding programs to save the species from extinction. Because of the outbreak, the Australian government has listed Tasmanian devils as vulnerable.

You can read their full article here:

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/tasmanian-devil.html

It's Willy....and he joins the group.

OK....I'm finally sure who I have here....Willie it is, and he and River were finally introduced into the main group again as I pray everyone will get along!

I worried needlessly! As you can see he fit right in!

...and he's VERY happy to be part of the group...especially chummy with Gonzo his new best bud!

River next to one of the Muppets....Gonzo again I think. Wow, what a size difference! But River is getting bigger than I think she should be. I know this is the time of year for them to pack it on and all, but I think she is getting un- proportionately large compared to what she is getting to eat. Laurie and I are going to draw some blood and check her thyroid and see if she is hypothyroid.

So it's one big happy family of 11! Hopefully it stays that way!!