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Raccoons usually don’t pose much of a threat to humans, but one woman in the state of Washington had to call the police after her decision to feed some of the animals led to a situation where she was forced to flee her own home after 100 of them approached her in search of some grub.
It’s hard not to have a soft spot in your heart for raccoons, as the nocturnal animals commonly referred to as “trash pandas” are objectively adorable creatures who can be a slight nuisance but typically engage in shenanigans that fall under the “Cheeky and Fun” umbrella.
As someone who previously fell into a YouTube rabbit hole involving a guy known as the “Raccoon Whisperer” with a channel full of videos of himself feeding them, I’d be lying if I said I’ve never had to resist the urge to harness a similar strategy to endear myself to some furry friends of my own—but that’s no longer the case thanks to a recent story that surfaced out of Washington.
According to WZZM, a woman living in the vicinity of the town of Poulsbo (located just west of Seattle across Puget Sound) had been feeding raccoons near her home for the past 35 years and seemingly coexisted with them in perfect harmony for the vast majority of that span.
However, the raccoon population in the area apparently exploded over the past couple of months, and it appears the newcomers to the area were informed her house was the place to head to if they were looking for an easy meal.
That led to the situation that unfolded on October 3rd when police received a call from the unnamed woman in question in search of some assistance after she was surrounded by around 100 raccoons that were “demanding food” and swarmed her to the point where she was unable to get inside her house and had to escape in her car.
The Kitsap County Sheriff released a video of the scene that greeted officers when they arrived on the scene, and the raccoons were certainly in no hurry to disperse once law enforcement arrived based on the clip that was shared.
On Patrol: Raccoon Invasion pic.twitter.com/5pAUE761Nk
— Kitsap Sheriff (@KitsapCoSheriff) October 7, 2024
The police put the woman in contact with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife in an attempt to tackle the issue she realized she’d be unable to address on her own after professional trappers she contacted said she’d have to pay $500 for every animal she wanted to be caught and relocated.