On my way to work, I spotted a raccoon very close to my house.
I have no idea how it climbed up, but it was clinging to a privacy fence about two meters high and didn’t run away even as I approached. It seemed to be unable to get down.
Compared to the one that wreaked havoc in my yard last year, this one was much smaller, so I assume it’s still young.
When I got closer and pointed my phone at it, it looked at me as if it had something to say.
But I didn’t have time to linger, and besides, it felt wrong to trespass on someone else’s property just to do something about it.
So I just took a picture and headed to work.
Lately, their numbers have been increasing significantly in this area, and the damage they cause is apparently becoming a real problem.
But looking at it like this, I couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for it.
After all, they didn’t come here by choice—they were brought over for profit by the pet industry, making them victims in a way.
That said, I really don’t want my yard to be ransacked again, so I’m starting to think it might be time to set a trap.
"By the way, when I got home, I asked my daughter about it, and she told me that one of her classmates (who lives next to the house in the photo) had seen a raccoon clinging to the fence.
Since their school departure time was about two hours after I had spotted the raccoon, it seems it really wasn’t able to get down.
By the time we got home, it was gone, but I have no way of knowing what happened to it afterward."
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