Had to take a second look

[Troy Breeding]

#3556

Sitting here this morning with the first cup of java and all of a sudden I catch movement in the back yard.

Normally it’s just the local dog or cat.

After taking a second look I notice it’s different.

First glance had me puzzled. It’s solid black and really round.

Once I finally get the brain to work I see it’s a raccoon.

The thing that really blew my mind was when it turned and started walking away I noticed it didn’t have a tail.:shock:

Grabbing the binos to take a better look shows there isn’t even a sign of a stub or anything.:shock:

Can’t say if it lost it’s tail when young or just didn’t have one to start with.

What say you??? Anyone else see strange things like this???

Wish the camera had been close by. I would have taken a pic for everyone to see.

Troy

[lyagooshka]

#21363

Is there anyone in your neighborhood wearing a Davy Crockett hat? 😆

[William Warren]

#21758

Or a coontail on their radio aerial?

But yes I’ve seen a few tailess squirrels around here.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#21816

Pygmy Bush Bear. Definitely.

[Etter1]

#21843

I have seen tail-less squirrels. Never a raccoon, but I’ve seen a heck of a lot more of the former.

[Michael Scott]

#22364

I have seen whitetail before that had a shorter than normal tail, and one, I think that looked like part of its ear had frozen off, once.

[Raymond Coffman]

#22374

One sees Frozen{off] ears on WT/M deer fairly often on the Plains,

especially this yr. Just saw a couple in NE in Nov.

Scout.

[Ralph]

#22779

A tailless coon tale! Cool :D:D Keep your camera handy cause them pesky raccoons have a bad habit of not going away.

[Troy Breeding]

#22895

After seeing it I put the camera on the end of the bar so it would be right there if needed in the future.

I’m keeping an eye out for that one.:roll:

Troy

[Ben M.]

#23201

I’ve seen cardinals with featherless heads several times. Talk about creepy!

On seeing amazing things in unexpected places…

I was on foot, about seven miles out, on the Tallgrass Prairie Nat’l Preserve in Chase county, KS yesterday. Trees? Sure there’s trees! They’re both doin’ fine! (Or so goes the joke.)

I’d come into some wooded bottomland and sat next to a hackberry to eat my lunch; a partially frozen loaf of homemade bread. To my utter amazement and delight, in flew… a pileated woodpecker!!! To be that deep into the prairie–especially at this time of year–and see a pileated woodpecker was truly a gift.

Unfortunately I couldn’t get a picture; my camera froze after it took this one:

[Wexbow]

#23975

Ben I loved your post – the priceless gifts that we get for free if we just have eyes to see…

[Etter1]

#24023

Must’ve been a pile of termites in those two trees!

[Ben M.]

#24134

Wexbow wrote: Ben I loved your post – the priceless gifts that we get for free if we just have eyes to see…

Thanks, brother. A special gift it truly was, and in the most unexpected of places!! After years of searching for them this was the first I’ve ever identified by sight. Icing on the cake, it was my 32nd birthday. 🙂

-Ben

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