Man Helps Raccoon Caught In Beer Can (Florida, With Pic)

Fort Myers News-Press ^ | October 27, 2002

[Shermy]

Coors Light and curiosity were almost a dangerous combination for a Bonita Springs raccoon.

The fluffy black and white masked creature spent more than a week climbing trees and hobbling around the shores of the eastern Imperial River with a rusty, dented Coors Light beer can stuck on her paw.

[Shermy]

CAN OF TROUBLE: This raccoon was trapped by a Bonita Springs man who was trying to help it get a beer can off its paw. The female raccoon, named Beer Foot by its rescuer, had severely injured its paw in the can. Special to The News-Press

[Shermy]

Bona fide Hold Muh Beer Alert

[mhking]

"Hold muh beer 'n watch this!" PING....

If you want on or off this list, please let me know!
This has come about after much badgering by you, my friends and extended family...

[eastsider]

The fluffy black and white masked creature spent more than a week climbing trees and hobbling around the shores of the eastern Imperial River with a rusty, dented Coors Light beer can stuck on her paw.... Amputation is not possible, LeBlanc said, because creatures such as raccoons need both front paws to climb trees and forage for food.

???

[struwwelpeter]

Good man. A vet should've done this procedure for free in order to reap the good publicity.

Ten cents worth of ketamine and rompun, three seconds worth of snipping, and another dime's worth of antibiotics. Lots cheaper than a new sign.

[b4its2late]

Guess they don't have to worry about rabies in FL huh? In NY, we've been told to treat every raccoon as if it were rabid. So, if I see one with a beer can crossing the road, I'm heading for it instead of stopping to help it........I'm assuming it's foaming from the mouth from rabies, not beer foam.....

[FreedomPoster]

City slicker? Racoons do, indeed, climb trees.

[FreeTally]

Bona fide Hold Muh Beer Alert

Nah, this is a "let go of muh beer" alert.

[FreedomPoster]

RacoonsRaccoons

[mg39]

That's a great thing this person did. Goes to show not everyone is an SOB who would rather run over an animal than help it.

[TroutStalker]

The fluffy black and white masked creature spent more than a week climbing trees and hobbling around the shores of the eastern Imperial River with a rusty, dented Coors Light beer can stuck on her paw.

The so called "reporter" made this up. Since when do aluminum cans rust?

[rintense]

Aw! Poor baby. I hope the beer was worth it for the critter. She can come and live on my property.

[chuknospam]

Racoons are frequently found with rabies in FL. I trapped a coon once, unintentionally while trying to trap a cat, It took some time to just get the door opened safely to release it, it was like a wildcat, mean & mad as hell. They appear cute but believe me, they are trouble and belong in the wild, not in suburbia, & are best observed from a distance.

[TroutStalker]

I had a rabid coon come to my house about twenty five years ago. Kept hearing a funny noise outside, and went out to see a very large racoon lurching sideways just off of the deck. I went inside to get my rifle to dispatch it, but when I returned it was nowhere to be seen. I had no desire to try and find it in the dark, but you can be sure I was very wary of all the wild animals around there for quite some time.

[demosthenes the elder]

The reporter may have mistaken the staining on the can for rust. See the photo, decide for yourself.
While you are correct that aluminum does not "rust" (ie oxidize into Fe2O3 or Fe3O4) it does indeed oxidize, very rapidly - forming an airtight surface layer of Aluminum Oxide which prevents further oxidation, and can stain if corroded by exposure to chemicals other than atmospheric oxygen.
Reporters are barely capable of describing what they see and understand. Surely you don't demand they accurately describe anything so abstruse as molecular chemistry?

I'm glad the critter seems to be on the mend. I am a hunter, and thus am all for wildlife conservation and against littering.

[LouD]

Raccoons are not exactly an endangered species. In fact, they're a nuisance, with few predators once they start moving in to developed areas. They are mean, nasty animals, and sometimes attack people.

I'd have just shot the varmint, and put it out of its misery. If it didn't have a beer can on its foot, I'd have just shot it anyway.

[mg39]

I had to catch a raccoon once with a pole & noose when I worked for a wildlife sanctuary. It was during the day, which often means rabies, but this one didn't put up a fight at all. Unfortunately, it had to be euthanized.

As others have said, raccoons are best viewed from within the safety of your home. We've got a family who comes around at night in our backyard, and it's always a delight to watch them -- from the inside!

[adaven]

City slicker? Racoons do, indeed, climb trees.

He was meaning that the racoon was climbing trees with this "rusted" can on his paw, but then it goes on to say that they could not amputate because racoons need both paws to climb trees.

[mg39]

"They are mean, nasty animals, and sometimes attack people...I'd have just shot the varmint, and put it out of its misery. If it didn't have a beer can on its foot, I'd have just shot it anyway."

Trust me bud, there are some varmints which are meaner and nastier and frankly, of less benefit to this world.

[dead]

That raccoon is alot cuter than most I've seen.

I had this big fat dirty bastard who used to knock over our garbage cans (down the Jersey shore) and spread the garbage all over our lawn. It could undo the locking handles of the garbage can and would gnaw through or even untie ropes we used.

Finally I put a huge slab of slate on top of one of the lids. At about two in the morning, I heard a huge crash and a fierce howling. The fat raccoon ran away, and never came back, so I guess they can also learn from bad experiences.

This one probably won't drink Coors Light again. I only had to taste that crap once to learn my lesson.

[Anitius Severinus Boethius]

I had this big fat dirty bastard who used to knock over our garbage cans (down the Jersey shore) and spread the garbage all over our lawn. It could undo the locking handles of the garbage can and would gnaw through or even untie ropes we used.

dead, that was a former President on vacation on the Jersey shore, hate to tell you.

[1Old Pro]

Coors Light

Isn't that that new water drink with the barely noticable scent of beer in it that's all the rage with girls.

[sparkomatic]

I'm with you. It's this sort of thing that helps keep me in practice.

[monday]

"The fluffy black and white masked creature spent more than a week climbing trees and hobbling around the shores of the eastern Imperial River with a rusty, dented Coors Light beer can stuck on her paw.... Amputation is not possible, LeBlanc said, because creatures such as raccoons need both front paws to climb trees and forage for food."

LOL... I noticed that too. Seems the reporter is more interested in getting as much 'pity factor' in the story as possible, than accuracy. Whats a little journalistic licence when one is crusading against littering?;^)

[eastsider]

City slicker? Racoons do, indeed, climb trees.

LOL : ) I'm aware racoons climb trees. There are several families of racoons living in the elms in Central Park that occasionally hiss at me after dark if they think I'm coming too close to their trees.

I was merely questioning how this 'coon did the "impossible" by climbing trees with only one front paw.

[Blood of Tyrants]

If they have to amputate, maybe they can put a tiny little Coors beer can on it for a prosthesis.

[apackof2]

I really despise irresponsible, lazy litters who will walk 5 miles for a cheap beer but won't walk 10 feet to dispose of the can.
At least this story had a happy ending

[eastsider]

He'd be a shoe-in for the next Ace Ventura sequel.

[wimpycat]

Hopefully the poor critter was given a rabies shot as well.

[stainlessbanner]

Another reason why racoons shouldn't drink light beer

[The Duke]

"Hold muh raccoon"?

[Age of Reason]

I had this big fat dirty bastard who used to knock over our garbage cans (down the Jersey shore) and spread the garbage all over our lawn. It could undo the locking handles of the garbage can and would gnaw through or even untie ropes we used.

Meanwhile, the racoon is probably thinking he's got these two-legged son of a gun humans who paved over his forest and now he's got to look in garbage cans for food.

[wimpycat]

I was merely questioning how this 'coon did the "impossible" by climbing trees with only one front paw.

Technically speaking, the raccoon still had two paws, just one stuck in a beer can, so she could still climb, but she probably made a racket doing it. *clink*, *clink*, *clink*!

[John O]

Coors Light

Isn't that that new water drink with the barely noticable scent of beer in it that's all the rage with girls.

I understand it's like making love in a canoe

God Save America (Please)

[eastforker]

That coon wasn't Rabid,they always lurch sideways,I bet he bristled his fur up also.He was just being a coon.

[eastforker]

You got it all wrong,the previous owner was a snuff dipper and this was his spitcan,good thing too or that coons leg would have really been infected.

[pageonetoo]

raccoon...thinking????? Human response to a poor creature in troulbe is a natural response to any suffering. But ascribing human traits to a DUMB animal is a natural sign of ignorance ( or a touchy, feely liberal response.
GET YOUR GUN and shoot him!

[mg39]

Of course animals think. They may not think on the level of human beings, but an animal as highly evolved as a raccoon is certainly capable of thought and feeling. Any ignorance here is on your part: ignorance of biology and ethology, and your "just shoot it" mentality.

[TroutStalker]

I've seen my share of coons in the wild, and none acted that way. The ones that you have seen lurching sideways, do they usually fall over, too?

[pageonetoo]

of course animals think, and they design skyscrapers and airplanes. They contribute to our economy as food, and provide companionship for the lonely, but I have never seen a single wild or domestic animal that I could converse with...
Having studied both biology and theology, I have a great deal of respect for that which God gives to us, but you give yourself away when you talk about how the racoon has "evolved".
My teachings on biology were that animals do not reason (read=think). They respond to stimuli (hunger, fear, danger, sex)!
and it is almost hunting season... do you own a gun, or bow & arrow, or just go to the supermarket for all that you eat??

[Calvin Locke]

I kept getting skunks trying to get a woodchuck. Got a couple of cats, one opossum, billions of gray squirrels, too.

Note: Broccoli for woodchucks. Peanut butter for just about anything else.

Somehow missed the rabid racoon that was wandering around.

[dead]

Meanwhile, the racoon is probably thinking he's got these two-legged son of a gun humans who paved over his forest and now he's got to look in garbage cans for food.

If the raccoon had a problem with that, he oughta thought to invent himself a gun.

[blackdog]

From May through November, raccoons are the farm version of the Viet Cong. When hens hatch chicks, raccoons eat them. When hens are sitting on clutches, raccoons chase em off and eat em. Sweet Corn is ravaged by them in July. Corn Cribs are torn to bits by the beasts. They have discovered that I won't shoot them(and yes they do rove in packs) when they are clinging to the rafters in my machine shed(don't want to shoot holes in my roof). Now whenever chasing them off from one building to another they run into the machine shed and sit there. I've tried dislodging them with long poles but by the time I drop the pole, pick up the gun, put a round in the chamber the damn thing has scurried back up the wall and is sitting with his brethren again.

I have an Australian Cattle Dog that is viscious with them. The only problem is that she gets mighty bit up in the conflict. She kills a few each year. I shoot about a dozen or so inside the barn or at the corn crib each year. We don't make a dent. The wost thing is when you trap or kill a momma coon. For weeks you have unsupervised coon yout's wandering around.

The only thing worse than coons is skunks. Anyone who can tell me how to shoot or rid me of skunks without them spraying gets a free leg of lamb. A friend told me that if you soak marshmallows in acepromazine that the skunks will eat it and become anesthetised. I just ended up with staggering cats, coons and skunks. The skunks don't like being drugged and they just spray at will. The same guy told me that if you trap them and pick them up by the tail that they won't spray either. I'm not falling for that one. One skunk incident can really ruin the home life for a few weeks.

[eastforker]

Funny,your post didn't mention that he fell over.Watching a coon in the wild and watching one take up a defensive position are two differant things.Been around wildlife all my life son,have seen animals do some amazing things,like deer crawling,not running wich they could have done,through a ravine to avoid detection. I will kill an animal if I want to eat it,I will not kill for sport or pleasure.

[rintense]

Oh I have lots of experience with coons. My family has been the neighborhood humane society for as long as I can remember. We've treated every kind of critter possible. Seems that when I bought my own place, the critters knew exactly where to come. Within a month in my new place, I had cats, coons, and possums at my door.

A baby skunk has even sprayed me! It was trapped in a window well, and had been down there for a while, and kids were throwing stuff at it. And with temps in the mid 90s, I knew it wouldn't last long. So, with food and water in hand, I crawled into the window well, which was around 4 feet deep 3 feet wide and deep. I kept talking calmly to it as I lowered myself. He walked over and drank the water, and then sniffed the food. I was actually sitting in the well, on the opposite side of it. Well, after he smelled the food, he decided to come smell me. I kept talking to him, but I decided I didn't like the look in his eye, and jumped out of the window well. He obviously didn't like my sudden exit, and sprayed the back of my legs on the way out! Now, let me just say this. The skunk smell on the road when you pass one that has just been hit is NOTHING, I repeat NOTHING like being right next to it when it sprays. Lost a good pair of tevas, and my car smelled for days.

Happy ending... the Humane Society came a rescued the baby skunk and set him free.

Did I learn a lesson? Maybe. I am a sucker for a pair of sorrowful eyes and will help any animal in need. Call me stupid, but that's just the way I am.

[paddles]

"The he-coon walks just before the light of day."

Unfortunately, the she-coon couldn't see and stepped in the frigging beer can the sonofabitch dropped behind him.

[hot august night]

It's always refreshing to hear kind-hearted people go out of their way for animals...you see a lot of these stories about animals being saved -- and then repaying their saviors -- on "Miracle Pets" on PAX (cable). Great show.

It always enrages me when I am walking down the street and see kids (and others -- I've seen illegals do this as well in my town) unwrap a candy bar, finish a soda, or slice of pizza, and then, without hesitation, non-chalantly and brazenly toss the wrapper/can/paper plate on the sidewalk. As a child, I would have never even considered doing this, having consideration for others, for the environment, and for animals. If I buy a six pack of soda, I always cut up those indestructible plastic rings before tossing them in the garbage, so animals foraging in the dump don't get tangled in them.

[Ditter]

I would have shot it too. People like to help wild creatures because it makes *them* feel good, and thats OK. Now that it is well it can get smushed on the road by a car. We just returned from a VERY long road trip & we probably saw one dead racoon every 2 miles. That would come to about 1500 dead racoons in 2 weeks.

[null and void]

I think you missed the point...

[hot august night]

It's always refreshing to hear kind-hearted people go out of their way for animals...you see a lot of these stories about animals being saved -- and then repaying their saviors -- on "Miracle Pets" on PAX (cable). Great show.

It always enrages me when I am walking down the street and see kids (and others -- I've seen illegals do this as well in my town) unwrap a candy bar, finish a soda, or slice of pizza, and then, without hesitation, non-chalantly and brazenly toss the wrapper/can/paper plate on the sidewalk. As a child, I would have never even considered doing this, having consideration for others, for the environment, and for animals. If I buy a six pack of soda, I always cut up those indestructible plastic rings before tossing them in the garbage, so animals foraging in the dump don't get tangled in them.