11:41 on 2012/10/15 Reply  

• jeather 21:24 on 2012/10/15 Permalink

  Yeah, just look at those three faces on that article. I know that raccoons are wild animals who will attack if you corner them, who carry all sorts of disease, etc, etc, but they are really adorable. I don’t actually feed them (well, not deliberately), but I can see the temptation.

• Marc 22:16 on 2012/10/15 Permalink

  NDG raccoons aren’t aggressive; at least not the ones I’ve crossed paths with. If a thought bubble came up above their head it would read “yo!” However, several were very fat. Perhaps we’re seeing the start of raccoon domestication.

  Also, I though Montreal was rabies-free?

• Kate 07:31 on 2012/10/16 Permalink

  It is. I heard the Amis de la montagne woman on CBC radio yesterday talking about this. Raccoons are wild animals and of course if they scratch or bite you it’s not great, but there’s no rabies on the island of Montreal and if the city thinks it’s smart to try to create a panic by hinting around about nonexistent rabies I think that’s very stupid.

  From what I’ve read, raccoons are probably more dangerous to dogs than to us, because they can carry a form of distemper that dogs can catch – but of course most pet animals are routinely vaccinated against distemper anyway.

• Blork 09:58 on 2012/10/16 Permalink

  Montreal may be rabies-free now, but that can change quickly. The idea is to not be in the habit of feeding the raccoons so that there’s less risk if rabies does show up. Also, as I’ve been hearing, some of the raccoons are becoming so dependent on junk food that they’re not learning their natural food-finding skills or whatever it is that keeps them fed normally.

  But yeah, they sure are cute!

• jeather 10:22 on 2012/10/16 Permalink

  Also a different form of distemper cats can catch. Or something cats can catch, anyhow. Mostly they can bite people, and wild animal bites can get infected quite easily.

• Walkerp 02:41 on 2012/10/17 Permalink

  This is not about health or safety of humans, but the sustainability of the mountain. Human feeding of the raccoons swells their numbers and they have an impact on the ecosystem of the mountain. People need to be educated and if they can’t learn, than they need to be punished.

• Kate 08:16 on 2012/10/17 Permalink

  if they can’t learn, than they need to be punished

  Yikes.

  But you make a good point, walkerp. It isn’t always about humans.

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