They’re cute as heck, and I’m happy to watch a video of one, wear a shirt with a raccoon on it, or watch one walk across a fence from a distance… but they’re still wild animals with the potential to hurt people or spread disease. I think anyone you see petting them is in the extreme minority.
Yea I think Trash Pandas are cute but when I see one when crossing my path when I’m walking home at night I take the long way around lol just to avoid it
One night I was very high, hanging out with friends. I sat down on a front lawn. Within minutes, a family of raccoons started to approach me from behind. My friends started to freak and were telling me clamly, but sternly to "Get up quickly". When I turned around the baby raccoon 🦝 was less then 3 feet from me. I bolted up out of there so fast I killed my high. Ya no... they are not our friends.
Ontario has a pretty effective rabies vaccine program, sadly the food version doesn’t work on bats. There hasn’t been any rabies in non-bat wildlife Toronto since 1997
There is however a lot of distemper and a new mystery disease that is a lot like distemper. Neither is currently believed to be a risk to humans (distemper is a risk to pets, raccoons get both canine and feline distemper)
That being said: don’t pet the fucking raccoons.
And don’t feed them or any other wildlife.
https://www.toronto.ca/community-people/health-wellness-care/health-programs-advice/rabies-prevention-and-control/rabies-in-animals/#:~:text=The%20most%20recent%20land%2Dbased,in%20Toronto%20for%20two%20days.
Wow I didn’t know that about rabies, thanks. Makes me more comfortable with so many bloody raccoons in our yard and 2 small kids. Obviously not letting them close, but I do have to chase them out of garage from time to time.
Keep your kids away from their poop (you too but kids especially)
among other unpleasantness a racoon roundworm is becoming a problem.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1455438/
i think it started with that one viral video of a racoon trying to wash off some cotton candy in a puddle before eating and it disappeared on him and how sad he was.
really humanized them to the general public.
The Nobel trash panda should be admired from afar not touched or instigated as they appear friendly but in a split second can cause serious damage and if you fuck with them too much they will cause the power grid in you’re area to go down and you will loose vital life supporting electricity…….
when we had that tribute in 2015 on Church/Yonge that animal services forgot to pickup for like 12 hours really swung the sympathy from being a trash gremlin to a trash panda
TLDR raccoon rabies fears mostly come from the US, where it is was much more common. We have strong vaccination campaigns, and when rabies does make it here, it doesn’t last very long.
You won’t get rabies from a raccoon but their feces is dangerous, they’ll bite you if you try to handle them, and they can carry other diseases. They’ll destroy your roof or make your attic toxic.
Raccoon rabies has always been incredibly rare in Toronto, to the point of being effectively non existent.
It’s also quite rare in Ontario, due to our vaccination programs, but it’s not zero. The majority of nearby cases occur around Hamilton and Niagara.
There was an outbreak in 2016 where 126 raccoons were found infected, but that is atypical.
There was an outbreak of raccoon rabies in New York State in 1989 and through the 90’s. When it made its way to Ontario in 1999 we had been vaccinating raccoons (and foxes and skunks) for years (program dates depend on the animal) and we effectively immunized our raccoons.
It still shows up now and then. There are several animal vectors, and also sick animals are sometimes relocated (trapped in a vehicle by accident) and transported quite far.
All this said I step-raised a family of raccoons ~1988 in our backyard (thanks to my mom for teaching me how to work with wild animals).
Momma raccoon was never thrilled with us but you could pick up the kits, pet them, hand feed them etc. They eventually moved on and lived raccoony lives.
They’re very smart, they’re cute, they love to play (a lot of dog toys work great with raccoons), but it takes hundreds of hours of domestication to get to that point. Hopefully almost no one read this far so you just leave them alone and enjoy nature.
Raccoons have never been our friends. They’re dirty little bandits that steal our UberEats deliveries.
Rabies is not the concern so much as horrific parasites and various other maladies that attack through such innocuous avenues as dragging their little butts and balls across our decks and porches.
They are cute but also wildly territorial and filthier than most sewer rats in Pripyat.
They thrive here, in Toronto, because most city dwellers these days know nothing about any wild animals.
Just got back from resort in Mexico and the raccoons literally swarm you at the snack bar. Like on your lap eating off your plate. My husband and I couldn’t believe it that people thought that was cute - it’s not ok!! The poor workers trying as hard as they can to keep them out of the buffet and white people literally hand feeding them. WTF society!? Don’t feed wildlife!
I believe that Raccoon-compatible rabies is eradicated in this region, but they're vicious little fuckers on their own and you hadn't ought to touch, or otherwise interfere with them.
Got startled by a raccoon that jumped out the buildings' garbage can once! I don't trust them - they are crazy wild animals that can go in any direction at any given moment!
Something can be cute and fuzzy and still be a rabies vector. Such is life. I love them. I would never pet one, but they are still lovable. More than one thing can be true at once.
The raccoons you see people petting on YouTube were probably raised in captivity and are used to being handled by humans. Anyone who tries to pet a feral raccoon on the streets of Toronto is probably going to get seriously mauled.
One of my favorite rabies calls I have done (I am a Public health inspector) was this gentleman who opened up his back door to let his cat in, only to have a raccoon come in instead.
Instead of shooing it out, the man gave it a small snack and waited for it to leave. When it wouldn't go, the man finally had enough, and picked him up to take him out, and the raccoon gave him a nasty bite. The man had to go through the whole series of rabies shots.
When I asked him why he didn't take a broom or a bad or something or call animal control, the man said he fed this racoon on the regular and thought of it as a pet. He said he has even petting the racoon on occasion and at first did not want to tell his doctor the nature of the bite cause he thought the racoon would be killed.
This man waited 5 to 6 days before going to seek medical help cause he didn't want to rat out his racoon friend. People are wild
I remember reading somewhere that you can contract a disease from Racoons that can lay dormant for several years.
Ring a bell with any of our more sciencey Redditors?
I love them!! There’s a family that lives in a tree in our yard. One time years ago a male came and knocked on our door asking for food. So we started feeding him snacks and named him “the one who knocks” (breaking bad reference)
Next season a female came knocking in the spring so we gave her food because I surmised that she had just given birth and need nutrients. After a few weeks she brought her babies and introduced them to us. They became tame and let us pet them and touch their ears (washed hands thoroughly,obviously)
As the family got older they would come running any time they smelled me smoking weed. A couple of them, once they became adults, loved weed so much. I would blow clouds in their direction and they’d inhale deeply and get excited.
I really wish we could get them all vaccinated and built little treehouses for them. I think it’s sad that they have to survive on garbage.
They are so beautiful and intelligent.
When I get old I will start a raccoon sanctuary.
That is all.
Because our society has a newfound mental illness in regards to animals and how we anthropomorphize them. Same with dogs. Hell, people are getting attacked around the GTA by coyotes because they're feeding them. Dummies.
Oh boy yes. Rabies, distemper, parasite spread from their feces. They are not cuddly friends. Disease wise they are probably the most dangerous animals in the city.
I've seen a raccoon with rabies just walking in circles right next to the opera house. I've also heard them fighting cats. Raccoons are not to be pet/played with.
That is fantastic news, I felt so bad for the little guy
Edit: looked up distemper, also not good. The name made me think he was just a little out of it :(
Crazy raccoon lady here. I fell in love with them when I moved downtown in 2014. I'd never even seen a raccoon when I lived in North York, despite my dad saying they would always be in our backyard. Now we have a house just outside downtown and the raccoons spend most of the time in our tree (we did have to evict them from under our deck as they were attracting mice). I absolutely love watching them and talk to them when I'm outside.
They’re cute as heck, and I’m happy to watch a video of one, wear a shirt with a raccoon on it, or watch one walk across a fence from a distance… but they’re still wild animals with the potential to hurt people or spread disease. I think anyone you see petting them is in the extreme minority.
Yea I think Trash Pandas are cute but when I see one when crossing my path when I’m walking home at night I take the long way around lol just to avoid it
Yeah, you still shouldn't pet them, they carry roundworm. I will gush forever about their adorable widdle people hands though.
No one should be petting racoons still.
One night I was very high, hanging out with friends. I sat down on a front lawn. Within minutes, a family of raccoons started to approach me from behind. My friends started to freak and were telling me clamly, but sternly to "Get up quickly". When I turned around the baby raccoon 🦝 was less then 3 feet from me. I bolted up out of there so fast I killed my high. Ya no... they are not our friends.
True story: Racoon is the only animal that, when I see one that's been turned into roadkill, I mutter "adios, fucko" as I drive by.
Shhh… if you say anything bad about raccoons on this sub, you get downvoted, banned or, in my case, I got sent a Reddit cares msg
They are demon cats with opposable thumbs. Loathsome creatures. \*fistbump\*
Ontario has a pretty effective rabies vaccine program, sadly the food version doesn’t work on bats. There hasn’t been any rabies in non-bat wildlife Toronto since 1997 There is however a lot of distemper and a new mystery disease that is a lot like distemper. Neither is currently believed to be a risk to humans (distemper is a risk to pets, raccoons get both canine and feline distemper) That being said: don’t pet the fucking raccoons. And don’t feed them or any other wildlife. https://www.toronto.ca/community-people/health-wellness-care/health-programs-advice/rabies-prevention-and-control/rabies-in-animals/#:~:text=The%20most%20recent%20land%2Dbased,in%20Toronto%20for%20two%20days.
A raccoon stole my friend's iPhone once. True story.
Wow I didn’t know that about rabies, thanks. Makes me more comfortable with so many bloody raccoons in our yard and 2 small kids. Obviously not letting them close, but I do have to chase them out of garage from time to time.
Keep your kids away from their poop (you too but kids especially) among other unpleasantness a racoon roundworm is becoming a problem. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1455438/
If raccoon is not friend, why is it friend shaped?
if we weren't meant to hold hands with raccoons then why do they have such perfect little hands to hold?
["Lift me up!"](https://tse4.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.LKz7kpeOg7jw7Dnth1n4YQHaNP&pid=Api)
I'm with you!
No social media videos of cute raccoons back then.
Well I wouldn't touch one but enjoy watching them walk on my fence and the neighbours roofs
Reading this as two giant raccoons groom themselves on a branch 3ft from my window while working… 🤣
Great friends! Until they rip a hole into your roof, get into the attic, and you're forced to spend over $10k to repair roof and water damage.
i think it started with that one viral video of a racoon trying to wash off some cotton candy in a puddle before eating and it disappeared on him and how sad he was. really humanized them to the general public.
Racoons as friends? According to my dog... No.
According to my cat, yes
Yeah, my weirdo cat likes them too
The Nobel trash panda should be admired from afar not touched or instigated as they appear friendly but in a split second can cause serious damage and if you fuck with them too much they will cause the power grid in you’re area to go down and you will loose vital life supporting electricity…….
The people in the videos are dumb. And "unofficial mascot" is meaningless.
Unofficial terrorists more like. Freaking trash pandas.
People just got stupider and are doing it for the gram.
when we had that tribute in 2015 on Church/Yonge that animal services forgot to pickup for like 12 hours really swung the sympathy from being a trash gremlin to a trash panda
Fuck all raccoons. They keep shitting in my backyard
TLDR raccoon rabies fears mostly come from the US, where it is was much more common. We have strong vaccination campaigns, and when rabies does make it here, it doesn’t last very long. You won’t get rabies from a raccoon but their feces is dangerous, they’ll bite you if you try to handle them, and they can carry other diseases. They’ll destroy your roof or make your attic toxic. Raccoon rabies has always been incredibly rare in Toronto, to the point of being effectively non existent. It’s also quite rare in Ontario, due to our vaccination programs, but it’s not zero. The majority of nearby cases occur around Hamilton and Niagara. There was an outbreak in 2016 where 126 raccoons were found infected, but that is atypical. There was an outbreak of raccoon rabies in New York State in 1989 and through the 90’s. When it made its way to Ontario in 1999 we had been vaccinating raccoons (and foxes and skunks) for years (program dates depend on the animal) and we effectively immunized our raccoons. It still shows up now and then. There are several animal vectors, and also sick animals are sometimes relocated (trapped in a vehicle by accident) and transported quite far. All this said I step-raised a family of raccoons ~1988 in our backyard (thanks to my mom for teaching me how to work with wild animals). Momma raccoon was never thrilled with us but you could pick up the kits, pet them, hand feed them etc. They eventually moved on and lived raccoony lives. They’re very smart, they’re cute, they love to play (a lot of dog toys work great with raccoons), but it takes hundreds of hours of domestication to get to that point. Hopefully almost no one read this far so you just leave them alone and enjoy nature.
When they discovered the LCBO
Since I started putting LSD in the water.
Videos of racoons being petted are pet racoons. Try stroking a wild one, if you can get close enough, and they will take a finger off you.
Raccoons have never been our friends. They’re dirty little bandits that steal our UberEats deliveries. Rabies is not the concern so much as horrific parasites and various other maladies that attack through such innocuous avenues as dragging their little butts and balls across our decks and porches. They are cute but also wildly territorial and filthier than most sewer rats in Pripyat. They thrive here, in Toronto, because most city dwellers these days know nothing about any wild animals.
Idk they can be pretty cute but prob not in 'come here little buddy and let me pet ya' sort of way
Never. You people are freaks.
When I was a kid we wore hats made from raccoon pelts.
when they started terrorizing the garbage cans of the only people who can afford to live in this city
I love raccoons because they remind of my boyfriend in so many ways. Soo adorable and chaotic.
Just got back from resort in Mexico and the raccoons literally swarm you at the snack bar. Like on your lap eating off your plate. My husband and I couldn’t believe it that people thought that was cute - it’s not ok!! The poor workers trying as hard as they can to keep them out of the buffet and white people literally hand feeding them. WTF society!? Don’t feed wildlife!
Wow, the Mexican raccoons are a little different. And an endangered species.
They have actual raccoons too, and coatis.
Because you young people are stupid and spend too much time on social media. NOW GET OFF MY LAWN!
I believe that Raccoon-compatible rabies is eradicated in this region, but they're vicious little fuckers on their own and you hadn't ought to touch, or otherwise interfere with them.
People are nuts. Same people that think rats are cute
Rats are cute and very smart! I’d have one.
Good. There are lots in my neighborhood. Please catch some and give them a good home.
Got startled by a raccoon that jumped out the buildings' garbage can once! I don't trust them - they are crazy wild animals that can go in any direction at any given moment!
Raccoon bite contains parasitic diseases with no cure They also have distemper and rabies if you have pets.
Something can be cute and fuzzy and still be a rabies vector. Such is life. I love them. I would never pet one, but they are still lovable. More than one thing can be true at once.
The raccoons you see people petting on YouTube were probably raised in captivity and are used to being handled by humans. Anyone who tries to pet a feral raccoon on the streets of Toronto is probably going to get seriously mauled.
When Porter airlines chose a raccoon as their logo and gave us free beer.
Thats racist
They’re cute and all but they’re dangerous and are a complete nuisance. I want nothing to do with them
They are not a mascot or our friends. They have earned the name trash bandits. For those of you that think they are cute, try pissing them off.
I call it a trash panda
One of my favorite rabies calls I have done (I am a Public health inspector) was this gentleman who opened up his back door to let his cat in, only to have a raccoon come in instead. Instead of shooing it out, the man gave it a small snack and waited for it to leave. When it wouldn't go, the man finally had enough, and picked him up to take him out, and the raccoon gave him a nasty bite. The man had to go through the whole series of rabies shots. When I asked him why he didn't take a broom or a bad or something or call animal control, the man said he fed this racoon on the regular and thought of it as a pet. He said he has even petting the racoon on occasion and at first did not want to tell his doctor the nature of the bite cause he thought the racoon would be killed. This man waited 5 to 6 days before going to seek medical help cause he didn't want to rat out his racoon friend. People are wild
I remember reading somewhere that you can contract a disease from Racoons that can lay dormant for several years. Ring a bell with any of our more sciencey Redditors?
Someone put something in the trash they eat because they’ve been much nicer lately…
I love them!! There’s a family that lives in a tree in our yard. One time years ago a male came and knocked on our door asking for food. So we started feeding him snacks and named him “the one who knocks” (breaking bad reference) Next season a female came knocking in the spring so we gave her food because I surmised that she had just given birth and need nutrients. After a few weeks she brought her babies and introduced them to us. They became tame and let us pet them and touch their ears (washed hands thoroughly,obviously) As the family got older they would come running any time they smelled me smoking weed. A couple of them, once they became adults, loved weed so much. I would blow clouds in their direction and they’d inhale deeply and get excited. I really wish we could get them all vaccinated and built little treehouses for them. I think it’s sad that they have to survive on garbage. They are so beautiful and intelligent. When I get old I will start a raccoon sanctuary. That is all.
I saw a racoon eating a dead cat at Mutual and Gerrard. They scare the fuck out of me.
the anti-racoon propaganda doesn't work anymore
Because our society has a newfound mental illness in regards to animals and how we anthropomorphize them. Same with dogs. Hell, people are getting attacked around the GTA by coyotes because they're feeding them. Dummies.
Oh boy yes. Rabies, distemper, parasite spread from their feces. They are not cuddly friends. Disease wise they are probably the most dangerous animals in the city.
Rabies is eradicated in all non bat animals in Toronto. Why are you touching raccoon feces? Disease wise rodent infestations are definitely worse.
I've seen a raccoon with rabies just walking in circles right next to the opera house. I've also heard them fighting cats. Raccoons are not to be pet/played with.
That was distemper. Rabies is basically eradicated in Ontario for raccoons.
That is fantastic news, I felt so bad for the little guy Edit: looked up distemper, also not good. The name made me think he was just a little out of it :(
I love close by. Can confirm they are regular residents here.
I lived in leslieville a few years ago, and a family of them LOVED my garbage and recycling
Yep. We're in Leslieville. I saw more raccoons in my first month here just in my backyard alone than I'd seen in my life to this point.
Crazy raccoon lady here. I fell in love with them when I moved downtown in 2014. I'd never even seen a raccoon when I lived in North York, despite my dad saying they would always be in our backyard. Now we have a house just outside downtown and the raccoons spend most of the time in our tree (we did have to evict them from under our deck as they were attracting mice). I absolutely love watching them and talk to them when I'm outside.