Almost everywhere, raccoons are seen as a nuisance. In fact, let me rephrase that. Everywhere, raccoons are seen as a nuisance. They get into garbage, get into fights with our pets, and often scare people half to death at night. However, on the island, and elsewhere around the Puget Sound, our raccoons act a little differently.

Raccoons are a nocturnal species and generally are not seen to be very active during the day. That is, of course, unless you live near the beach. These critters have learned a new life style here. Our raccoons are seen regularly foraging for shellfish on our beaches at low tide. As scavengers, they have learned to forage for these tasty morsels at all hours of the day. So, it is not uncommon to see multiple raccoons out and about during the heat of the day, which can be alarming for people not used to our raccoon population. A lot of people mistake raccoons being awake during the day as a sign of rabies, but just remember they may just be trying to feed their family.