That must be some kind of huge raccoon!

We've been having the usual Spring trouble with raccoons getting into my chicken feed. In past years they've been satisfied with eating whatever small bits the chickens left over from the day. This year, however, they've been breaking into my storage shed and taking the lid off the metal garbage can and feasting on the grain. I put a heavy cement block on the lid, but the first night they moved that out of the way and feasted anyway. They didn't move the cement block the past two nights. They got into the shed by pulling the front wall away from the frame. Yes, they pulled the wall away from the frame and crawled in. That's really not the feat of strength is seems to be since that corner of the shed has been well rain-soaked over the years, and the wood has become soft. However, I never expected them to rip apart a heavy, wire box trap. Makes me wonder what kind of raccoon is still up there. They are not the sweet, cute, cuddly looking "bandits" they appear to be. They are wild animals, and it's best to remember that.

My husband emailed the company that sells the box traps and ordered a new sliding "back door." (This trap has a sliding back door to release the trapped animal.) I included the pictures with that email. I also sent the pictures to a very old family friend who is something of a "woodsman" (not a hunter) to get his take on this ripped trap.

I just can't get over that ripped trap. I NEVER expected to see that. I mean, this trap is big and built to trap raccoons and animals of that size. Life sure is "interesting" out here in the boonies.