The Masked Bandits in the Night

Posted on February 21, 2006 by Gene

The noises started around 10:30 last night, whines and screams and growls. My first thought was that the neighborhood cats were fighting, but then the sounds got more urgent and strange, and I wasn’t sure I hadn’t heard something almost human in them. I peered through the windows, looking for evidence that something was happening… but nothing.
Things quieted down and I went to bed, only to hear it again.
Finally, with untied shoes I went outside, trying to triangulate the sound and figure out what was going on. Joining a neighbor in the middle of the street, we located the source: two raccoons, in a tree. One cornered on a branch, growling and hissing at the other. They both looked down at us with a look that could only be described as meaning don’t even think about getting any closer.
We both went home, and later I saw one of the animals come down from the tree. It was much bigger than I expected, and made its way down the sidewalk, leaving the other growling in the tree.