You mean the raccoons?

Not generally. I had one as a pet when I lived on a ranch as kid. He was a great pet for over a year, then he took off into the woods to look for a mate when he got older.

If you raise birds in a farm setting around here (chicken, ducks, turkeys, etc.) Racoons are the enemy and will get shot on sight every time because they are effective egg thieves and killers.

Well, they aren't anything like the four basic types of fox here. Yours may be quite different of course! Yes, I have soft spot for them, because Racoons are actually rather fascinating when you go "one on one" with them. Known to be highly intelligent, they are capable of solving puzzles to open lock mechanisms.

Fox, coyote, bobcats/lynx and feral hogs are in reality, a much bigger predator problem here in Texas. Feral hogs are easily the worst of the bunch. I can share a lot more if anyone is interested! Hint: they are omnivorous so any animal on the ground is a meal - including fawns, lambs, quail - you name it! They are sort of the "T-Rex" of the barnyard - and they are smart, fast and mean when cornered. And........there are over 3 million of them roaming wild in Texas alone, and multiplying at an alarming rate.

Marc

those darn "pigs" have destroyed my back 40. We've got traps out but they've been known to take the bait and get out of the traps. We don't go in the bottom without a BIG gun. And they've gotten a couple of my dogs.

Course we've got a couple of THEM in the freezer, but they just keep multiplying. And the coyotes think they can come up on the back porch and eat the dog food. I lost one of my dogs this week to them.

It's bad up here with the Predators. And all the stores are OUT of ammo. Think I'm gonna have to learn to shoot a bow.. 

Maybe time to call this guy.....
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A 10-year-old boy who was attacked by a feral pig in far north Queensland says his friend is a hero for trying to help him.

Ashton Davenport was trying to retrieve his friend's kite at Wonga Beach, north of Cairns, on Monday when he was gored in the neck.

He says he was not scared at the time but he is glad his friend Scott Cam was there to help.

"We got to the creek and a couple of metres after it I heard something in the bush and I jumped off my bike because I thought it was a bird and then it ran out, like charged at us, so I got on the ground and it started to attack me," he said.

"He was trying to find something to hit the pig with, get it off me.

"It was too late because the pig ran away because it hit itself on the bike - Scott, you're my hero."

Ashton was treated in the Mossman Hospital for a neck wound.

There is an estimated two million feral pigs in far north Queensland.

Ashton's mother, Sue Davenport, says she does not want to see the animals shot but says families in the area should remain vigilant.

"Think twice before you let your children go out on their own at the moment, but you can't wrap them in cotton wool," she said.

"You've got to let them be kids but he's just been told stand still and if there's a tree, climb a tree."

Meanwhile, the coordinator of natural management at the Cairns Regional Council, Russell Wild, says it needs landowners to help manage feral pigs.

Mr Wild says the council trapped 633 of the animals last year, mostly between Mossman and the Bloomfield River, but it is thought there's up to 6 million feral pigs in the far north.

"There is some hope on the horizon with the development of a new bait," he said.

"Obviously that's got to be tested and then approved.

"In the meantime it really does fall back on landowners to manage their properties and we encourage people to think about feral pig management."

G'day Barbara,
I must say, your life down there on the ranch is certainly
full of surprise's from one day to the next.

Hoppy.