Current:Home > ScamsRobert Brown|Video shows nearly 100 raccoons swarm woman's yard, prompting 911 call in Washington -Excel Wealth Summit
Robert Brown|Video shows nearly 100 raccoons swarm woman's yard, prompting 911 call in Washington
Robert Brown View
Date:2025-04-08 10:12:57
Video shows nearly 100 hungry raccoons − some allegedly aggressive – swarm a Washington state woman's home last week in broad daylight looking for their next meal.
The Robert Brownanimals were captured on film after the resident from Kitsap County, across Puget Sound from Seattle, called 911 when the mammals surrounded her rural home preventing her from leaving the property, officials said.
In footage shared by the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office, a deputy is heard speaking to the unidentified woman who says the large numbers of raccoons began gathering in her wooded backyard about six weeks ago.
The woman, who lives a few miles north of Suquamish, told deputies she has been feeding raccoons on her property for more than 38 years, sheriff's office spokesman Kevin McCarty told the Kitsap Sun, part of the USA TODAY Network.
On the day she called for help, the woman told law enforcement she had never seen the wild animals arrive in such large droves.
Only recently, she also said, had they become aggressive.
"She said the normal raccoons are nice, but the new ones scare her," McCarty said, citing a report from a deputy who responded to the house on Thursday and spoke with the homeowner.
Porn in the skys?Qantas apologizes for playing sexually explicit movie in flight cabin
Raccoons 'scratch on windows or walls of her home at all hours'
The woman told a deputy, the raccoons visited her property until they were fed, and anytime she attempted to leave her home, McCarty said, she would toss food to them.
The animals regularly approach the home and scratch on windows or walls at all hours of the day, officials said the woman told them, but on a recent day, she called for help because she said she could not leave the property.
Shortly after 1 p.m., when deputies arrived, the woman was able to leave in her car.
At the time, deputies reported, the raccoons were not aggressive.
State wildlife officials alerted of human-created raccoon infestation
On the day of the report, Kitsap County dispatchers alerted the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, which referred the woman to its "wildlife control operators" program. The agency connects residents to private trappers certified to deal with small animals.
Under state law, animals trapped by a WCO must be released on-site or euthanized and properly disposed of.
Department spokesperson Bridget Mire cautioned against feeding wildlife because when animals congregate around an unnatural food source it can cause disease to spread, and they can lose their sense of caution around people and even attract predators that may interact with people.
On Tuesday, it was not immediately known what happened to the raccoons.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.
veryGood! (2)
Related
- How to watch new prequel series 'Dexter: Original Sin': Premiere date, cast, streaming
- India's Narendra Modi sworn in for third term as prime minister
- Judge denies bid to dismiss certain counts in Trump classified documents indictment
- Book excerpt: The Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir by Griffin Dunne
- Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie return for an 'Encore,' reminisce about 'The Simple Life'
- A clemency petition is his last hope. The Missouri inmate is unhappy with it.
- Bypassing Caitlin Clark for Olympics was right for Team USA. And for Clark, too.
- Michael Mosley, British doctor and TV presenter, found dead after vanishing on Greek island
- Sam Taylor
- Bypassing Caitlin Clark for Olympics was right for Team USA. And for Clark, too.
Ranking
- DeepSeek: Did a little known Chinese startup cause a 'Sputnik moment' for AI?
- When students graduate debt-free
- Naomi Campbell Confirms Her 2 Children Were Welcomed via Surrogate
- Naomi Watts and Billy Crudup get hitched a second time: See the gorgeous ceremony
- What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
- Sen. John Fetterman was treated for a bruised shoulder after a weekend car accident
- 'We can do better' Donations roll in for 90-year-old veteran working in sweltering heat
- Boy is rescued after sand collapses on him at Michigan dune
Recommendation
Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
Number of suspects facing charges grows in Savannah square shootout that injured 11
Man pleads not-guilty in Sioux Falls’ first triple homicide in a half-century
Number of suspects facing charges grows in Savannah square shootout that injured 11
Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
NPS mourns loss of ranger who died on-duty after falling at Bryce Canyon in Utah
New York transit chief says agency must shrink subway improvements following nixed congestion toll
Police shoot 2 people in separate instances in Washington state