I think there are few animals more appealing to look at than "bandit-masked" raccoons, which are about the size of a big cat. A North American animal, you can find them in many habitats, from forests to prairies to cities. Raccoons are omnivores and effective gatherers of all types of food -- including trash (if you've ever seen the mess they can make with a trash can, you'll know why they're not everyone's favorites). They have very nimble front paws with long fingers and are adept at manipulating their food.
I came this group of raccoons in Stanley Park, Vancouver's beautiful nature oasis. They were alongside the Seawall Trail with encircles the park, a beautiful, flat easy trail to hike, with great views of the city's skyline, North Vancouver, and the Lion's Gate bridge. These little mouchers sat there like a group of dogs waiting for a treat. They were being feed live minnows by a woman fishing for them on the seawall. She was catching small bait fish in large numbers and every few minutes would throw minnows to these eager raccoons. After all, how could you resist feeding such cute animals?
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