coonin'

[JoshLedoux]

12:30am saturday and I just got my first coon on the front porch. He was after the cat and I saw him before the cat did, tumbled right over and off the porch, I'll weigh Him in the mornin and let y'all know where he measures in at (perhaps y'all could give me an official B&C score on the fatbody)

[Mr. Dean]

I've only had the fortune of Road Kill Coon. Stewed, they're great. Absolutely awesome when Jerky'd.
I've only been able to wonder what one fresh would be like.

Likely less rubbery and gritty.

[VanIsle]

MMMMMMMMM...........Coontang :tongue:

[hunter1947]

Coon stew is the best kind of stew that i ever ate :tongue: hunter 1947.

[JoshLedoux]

figger I'll stew Im' up and feed Im' to the cats, they deserve it after howmany of them he's eaten

[bsa30-06]

Don't forget to make yourself a hat out of the little buger.I wish we had more racoons around here them i can tolerate , the skunks have got to go they don't like my dog.

[Mr. Dean]

Stewed, they're great. Absolutely awesome when Jerky'd.

I'm serious.
Haven't had any since I was a kid. It IS good eats. My take on them is the same as Bears. Don't eat one that's dining on garbage.

Come to think of it... I don't believe that I've EVER come across a wild coon in BC. Then again, I haven't been looking either.

[boxhitch]

You won't find 'coons in the wild, they are an urban dweller, with a diet that makes a garbage bear look like Gr. A beef.

[boxhitch]

THE RACCOON
Procyon lotor
http://members.shaw.ca/kcic1/gifs/critcoon.jpg Raccoons are one of the most familiar North American animals, if only in folklore and stories. Their adaptability has allowed them to withstand drastic changes in their habitat while their intelligence, cleanliness and appealing looks have combined to make them popular. Their head and body length is 16-24 in. with a tail of 8-16 in. and they weigh up to 45lb. Their fur is grey to black with black rings on the tail and a distinctive black 'burglar mask' over their eyes. Their feet have long toes and front paws are almost hand-like and very dexterous.
Raccoons are relatives of pandas, kinkajous and coatis. There are seven species, the best known ranges from Canada to Central America.
Raccoons originally lived in woods and brushy country, usually near water, but as the woods have been cut down they have adapted to life in open country. They are solitary, each one living in a home range of about 4 acres, with a den in a hollow tree or in a rock crevice. They come out more at night, and are good climbers and swimmers. In the northern part of their range raccoons grow a thick coat and sleep through cold spells. Where trees have been cut down raccoons move into fox burrows or barns and they have been known to spread into towns, even to the middle of cities where they live in attics and sheds and raid garbage bins for food.
Raiding garbage bins is one of the raccoon's less popular traits. Apart from the mess, the bins are sometimes carried away bodily. There are stories of ropes securing the bins being untied, rather than bitten through. This is evidence of the raccoon's extreme dexterity. They use their hands almost as skilfully as monkeys - experiments have shown that their sense of touch is very well developed.
Raccoons eat a wide variety of both plant and animal food. It is the ability to take so many kinds of food that is probably the secret of the raccoon's success and of it's ability to survive changes in their environment. Raccoons are primarily carnivores; earthworms, snails, slugs, insects, frogs and other small creatures are included in their diet and raccoons also search in swamps and streams for crayfish and along the shore for shellfish. The eggs and chicks of birds, both ground and tree nesters, are eaten and raccoons are sometimes pests on poultry farms and in waterfowl breeding grounds. They are also pests on agricultural land because they invade fields of corn, ripping off corn ears and scattering them half-eaten. Fruits, berries and nuts are also eaten.BR> Raccoons mate in January or February, each male mating with several females then leaving them to raise the family. The young, usually 3 or 4 to a litter, are born from April to June, after 60-70 days gestation. They weigh 2 1/2 oz at birth and are clad in a coat of fuzzy fur, already bearing the characteristic black mask. Their eyes open in 18 days and at about 10 weeks they emerge from the nest for short trips with their mother. The trips get longer as the young learn to forage for themselves, but they stay with their mother until about one year old. Raccoons live as long as 13 years in the wild.

[boxhitch]

You might want to make sure you have your gloves on, and sterilize the fork after eating :frown:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol8no4/01-0273.htm

[boxhitch]

I guess you could eat them, if you really wanted, but .......
http://www.unbc.ca/nlui/wildlife_diseases_bc/baylisascaris.htm

[Mr. Dean]

Cook it well, wash your hands...ENJOY!

[Jager]

They make an allright hat. The only trick is stretching their butthole enough to fit over your head.

[Pete]

Folks Raccoons are not to be taken lightly. The CDC, center for disease control, ask a bunch of us that were trapping Raccoons to submit the bodies for testing. 70% of them came back with Raccoon Round worm. This is a REALLY NASTY cyst. There can be up to 15000 cysts in a single gram of scat and it is transferable to humans. There have been 2 fatalites over the last few years that have been attributed to this roundworm. Both fatalities were younger persons. We catch 125-150 per year and go to great lengths to keep everyone up to speed as to what is happening with these guys. This is one species that you want to make sure that you are wearing your gloves when handling. If you want more information go to google advance search and type in raccoon roundworm
Cheers
Pete

[Pyro]

I was considering hunting to eat, now I'm all creeped out.