More than 100 raccoons swarm woman’s home demanding food
KITSAP COUNTY, Wash. (KING) - Deputies say a woman in Washington state called 911 after her home was surrounded by more than 100 raccoons “demanding food.”
The woman called the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office to report she couldn’t get inside her Poulsbo home because of a raccoon invasion Thursday. She told deputies she started feeding raccoons around her house about 35 years ago without any problems.
Six weeks ago, the population of raccoons “exploded.” Now, the animals surround her home day and night, hoping for a meal.
“Somehow the word got out in raccoon land, and they all showed up to her house expecting a meal,” said Kevin McCarty, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office.
Deputies responded to the woman’s home and were startled by what they found: more than 100 raccoons.
“They were shocked,” McCarty said. “They had never seen that many raccoons in one place. Nobody ever remembers being surrounded by a swarm of raccoons. This was a first.”
Neighbors like Wendy Cronk have also seen an uptick in raccoons in the area over the last month.
“I’ve had several raccoons in the yard recently. My dogs have gotten in a scuffle several times with raccoons. I even had to take one of my dogs to the vet after tussling with a raccoon. I’ve also noticed there’s been a lot more hit raccoons up on the main road here,” Cronk said.
She hopes the issue gets resolved soon.
“I do hope that somebody steps in and helps her take care of this problem, and hopefully, she’ll quit doing it,” she said.
The sheriff’s office referred the woman to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to address her raccoon problem. She told deputies she contacted a trapping organization to help, but they wanted $500 per raccoon.
As animal control works to find a solution, McCarty recommends people avoid feeding wild animals.
“Don’t feed wild animals. When wild animals have a reliable food source, they’re going to keep coming back to it, and that’s what these raccoons did until the number of raccoons expecting a meal got out of hand,” he said.
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