Full disclosure: this picture was taken on June 14th of 2014. We were camping at Fair Haven Beach State Park. This area is a deciduous forest surrounding a pond set just off of Lake Ontario. The first time we camped at this site years earlier brought us a visitor while we were making s'mores. We were shocked and scared. Raccoons are known to be vectors of rabies, and the fact that it was coming close to us made us nervous. After a couple of years of visits, sometimes with a few babies and sometimes alone, we grew to expect her. At 7:15 p.m. on a cool, clear night, she stopped over to see us.
Raccoons are medium-sized mammals with a tell-tale black mask around its eyes and ringed tail. They have nimble hands which is what makes them a "nuisance" animal. While camping, we have had them break into trash cans and cause a mess. Considering that they typically live 2 - 3 years in the wild, I bet that we have been host to generations of this raccoon's family at this point. We are going up to Fair Haven to camp in two weeks. I hope we get to see this lady's granddaughter.
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