A Morning Visitor

Wasabi was on a bit more of a tear than usual this morning, which made total sense once we realized we had a visitor:


We spent the rest of breakfast watching her clamber around in the cherry tree, rather systematically eating all the cherries. Good thing I don't expect harvestable fruit from that tree!


She (I'm assuming it's female based on this site which says that while commonly nocturnal, raccoons can be active during the day, especially if there are kits back in the den.  Raccoon kits typically arrive in April and May, and Mama tends to stay with them for a year.) walked as far out on the limbs as possible, backing up only when the bend in the limb started to threaten an imminent fall.


She never fell, despite precariously reaching for that elusive fruit. 



She seemed on the small side (young? female?) compared to the few other raccoons we've seen in the backyard.  And she was missing her tail.  From where we were, it looked like a fairly recent loss.  Did she escape a trap?  Get into a fight?

We must have stood and watched her for 20 minutes or more.  She ate nearly all the fruit in the tree, then cleaned up the ground below.  She seemed remarkably comfortable up there, even engaging in some grooming/itch-scratching a good 10-12 feet up.

Then, having eaten everything, she crossed the yard, squeezed herself through the fence slats, and  sauntered off.