It's War

The Raccoon is Beating Me

I mentioned the other day that the neighbors have a large raccoon, possibly with rabies, that I'm trying to trap before it gets any chickens.  I'm using the Havahart 1079 live trap.  I've had great success with this in the past with skunks and raccoons.  This guy is giving me trouble.  The first night, he ate all the canned cat food, but didn't trip the trap.  I had no more bait, so I tripped it and left it there.  The next day, he had dragged the trap about 20 feet away from where I had it.  I left it in the new location and put in a new can of cat food.  This one, I opened, but left the lid sitting on the food.  The next day, he had removed the lid and eaten all the food, tripped the trap from the outside, and dragged it another 20 feet or so.  I'm starting to think he isn't rabid, he's too doggone smart and agile.


I'm going out in a minute to try again.  He's developed a taste for cheap, store brand canned cat food.  Tonight I will use a bungee cord to attach the trap to a tree.  I'll just crack the seal on the cat food can so he can smell it, maybe get a finger in there to get a taste, but he'll have to struggle some to get it open...  That ought to trip the trap with him inside.  We'll see how it goes.


Amazing Survival Story

Did you catch this story about the woman who survived lost in her broken down van for 49 days?  I'm sorry her husband has not been found, but it sounds like a Mother's Day miracle for her family.  The story also brings to mind a couple of points:

• If lost, and your current location does not put you at risk, stay there and wait for help
• Have a method of signaling in your car kit - a bright sheet, fire making materials, a mirror, a whistle, an air horn, it depends on where you are traveling
• You can't rely solely on GPS, have a Gazetteer for unfamiliar territory
• Have water and a method of getting clean water
• Have clothes and other gear appropriate for the time of year
• Several days worth of food for each person - Yeah, you probably won't have 49 days worth in your car, but even if she had a half dozen MREs and a couple boxes of granola bars, she'd have been better off than one bag of trail mix and some hard candy
• This woman's faith went a long way to keeping her alive

When people think I'm nuts for having my kit in my car, I can point to this story as a reason.