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Baby raccoons and how to sleep in a tree

2009.07.13

All the noise in the white pine tree catches the attention of Quincy.

In turn, the sound of Quincy catches the attention of two baby raccoons.

A third raccoon peers over a branch to see what is going on below.

Then a fourth one comes around from behind the tree to get a view.

They all settle down for a nap.

A good night nibble.

Oops! Two raccoons pick the same branch to rest on. Look how one has his paw on top of the other's paw.

If you arrange yourselves well, there's plenty of room for two.

Wrapping around the base of a limb is a safe way to stay in place once you've fallen asleep.

There's always the possibility that there is a better place to make a bed so it's worth scouting.

Two branches at the base of the tree are better than just one.

Everyone's settled down, but where?

This is a little awkward.

This doesn't work either!

If you're out on a limb, wrap your tail tightly and curl into a ball. See how it's done?

This is the vertical sleep position.

And this is the upside down position.

If you hitch your chin over a branch, that should work.

Two very different styles side by side. A sleeping demo.

There's probably nothing better than falling into the crook of a branch...

although some people insist that the "wraparound" is better.

You can go around the branch or in the same direction as the branch.

Or just sleep with your head lower than your haunches. There's no right or wrong way as long as you stay put.

I was just heading to bed around midnight when I heard the unmistakable sound of raccoons noisily entering the yard. They all explored their way around the yard until they decided to ascend the white pine tree and raced up. There were four babies with no adult supervision and there seemed to be a lot of chaos as they scrambled around in the tree. I spent three hours looking up (getting "birder's neck") and taking pictures with a flashlight in one hand and the camera resting on my face and shooting into the dark.

10 Comments

Wow those are fantastic shots very cute all of them

mystic1 · 2009-07-14: 01:25

WOW!!
Completely amazing!!
I love this post. It's a super-post!!
Lovely shots, funny words and great work!
How am I supposed to chose one for my favourites? I love them all!!

nunuinpictures · 2009-07-14: 07:06