February 18, 2008
Raccoons Run Rampant at Green-Wood Cemetery
Glowing eyes peering down from trees and from behind gravestones, the night creatures are disrupting the eternal sleep of the dead and driving the living to distraction. Raccoons have proliferated at the famous Green-Wood Cemetery, digging up the grass over graves, eating the flowers left by mourners, and even invading crypts to scavenge for food.
The animals have always been attracted to the oasis of green in Sunset Park and were regularly trapped and removed. However, Animal Care and Control stopped accepting healthy trapped raccoons last year - the agency still accepts rabid raccoons - forcing the cemetery personnel to trap and then simply release raccoons to another part of the huge graveyard. It's actually the lack of rabid raccoons that led to the change in policy (AC&C still accepts all raccoons in Queens and Staten Island because incidences of rabies are higher there).
The possibly thousands of raccoons aren't just a problem for Green-Wood. The cemetery's neighbors find their garbage cans ransacked, prompting one woman to call Green-Wood's VP of operations, asking if she could shoot at one of the creatures with a .22 rifle.
The midnight marauders aren't just in Sunset Park. They've reportedly infiltrated Park Slope and Williamsburg. And vets recommend parents bring kids inside if there are friendly-seeming raccoons who aren't bothered by daylight hanging around.
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The most impressive part of this story is the blatant attempt to disguise the editor's obvious Photoshop virtuosity.
Warning: Remove lymph glands first!
http://www.bigoven.com/32307-Barbequed-Raccoon-recipe.html
You had me at the photo
I used to live in Windsor Terrace and we had a terrible raccoon problem. My landlady had a pond in her backyard with several huge and beautiful koi fish, and raccoons came one night and killed and ate them all (they were worth several hundred dollars apiece). They used to knock over and rummage through our garbage cans, too.
But they ARE kind of cute.
This graphic is all Dave.
I don't understand how the raccoons can break into crypts, but they know how to undo bungee cords around garbage cans, so they must be higher levels of animals.
Raccoons have always been an issue in Queens. This is not news.
"They've reportedly been infiltrated Park Slope and Williamsburg"
Yes, and not even the Yuppie, Hipster population can keep them out. The Raccoons have adapted to their diets of organic food and starbucks.
I saw one walking down the sidewalk near the 25th St R stop (near Greenwood Cemetary) the other day and it was barely dark out at all.
What Photoshop? That's a real picture! Raccoons love pyramids.
Remember the racoons who tore down an entire wall during the filming of Grey Gardens?
Kill all coons!
Brooklyn has always been a generous home for raccoons.
The Loyal Order of Raccoons had its genesis on Chauncey St. in Bushwick before World War 2.
Herbert J. Gleason was one of the founding fathers.
The organization moved to Bensonhurst after the war.
Several meetings have been put on film, including their famed 1956 costume party, won by a sewer worker's depiction of "The Man From Space."
In the 1960's the organization moved its headquarters to the sun and fun capital of America, Miami Beach.
I've seen them all they way down in Sheepshead Bay (day & night)
All I need is a pellet gun, some cammo, and 50 bucks for my time.
I'll take care of your raccoon problem. And I'll clean 'em for free.
All I need is a pellet gun, some cammo, and 50 bucks for my time.
I'll take care of your raccoon problem. And I'll clean 'em for free.
Maybe I don't want to know the answer to this, but: What food are they finding to eat in the crypts? We either have flesh-eating zombie raccoons, or people are emulating the Egyptians in more than just architecture and leaving offerings of snacks for their dearly departed!