Raccoons in the DR?

[NALs]

All the maps of the natural habitats of the raccoon that I have see have the peculiarity that not a single island in the Caribbean is highlighted. No Caribbean island may be the natural habitat of the raccoon, but that doesn't mean there are none. Several Dominican newspapers have recent articles of a raccoon spotted in Cristo Rey, Santo Domingo. Are there more in the DR?

 

[Peterj]

Isla Catalina

 

[johne]

When I lived in NYC my home was very close to a major park covering acres and acres of wooded land. Picking up garbage from my overturned trash cans was part of my morning exercise. On my way to the park I first did all my stretching and bending at the trash can.

 

[CristoRey]

Never seen one in this country.
When i was a young kid in Jacksonville, FL we used to feed the babies when they'd come up to my back porch in the evenings.

 

[JimW]

...used to feed the babies when they'd come up to my back porch in the evenings.

I still do (I know, I shouldn't and perhaps this year will greatly cut back. They're sooo cute with their little masks!)

 

[JD Jones]

That little guy in Cristo Rey was probably somebody's escaped pet. I've seen a couple of videos of it since it was caught and it is clearly very comfortable around humans.
It must have been terrorized by the handling it got by the idiots that caught him.

 

[Auryn]

They’re notorious for carrying rabies and other diseases/parasites. They can be vicious, and growing up in northern Canada, they weren’t something you wanted around at all.

Add them to the list of other invasive species, but they could be particularly devastating if allowed to reproduce here unchecked.

 

[johne]

^^^Think about it...If your diet is spoiled and or rotten food stuff and road kill, how safe can they be?

 

[william webster]

Rabies = Yes.... but not Canina Rabies, the bad one for humans...... feline, I think- cat family

 

[Peterj]

Isla Catalina

 

[johne]

Rabies = Yes.... but not Canina Rabies, the bad one for humans...... feline, I think- cat family

Penn Vet | Fact Sheet Detail

Read the detail of Wildlife Futures fact sheets to learn more about disease types, causes, treatments, and management.

www.vet.upenn.edu

Hmmmmm...let me think about that WW

 

[Auryn]

If Medio Ambiente is smart they’ll either eliminate the population or send them to the zoo where they can’t cause problems.

They’re not cute and cuddly and should be treated as the wild animals/invasive species they are.

 

[william webster]

It's the Fox variety that bedevils humans......

I had a rabid raccoon in my Cdn yard and was told not to worry

BTW, they become docile.... come out in the day..... but mine (at least) was harmless
Now a mother w/ babies...... STAY AWAY !!!

 

[Lucifer]

Cat-eating Dominicans could fashion a sancocho de mapache... y "a comer" se ha dicho!

And as an armadillo-eating nincompoop, I'll partake on the mapache feast.

 

[NALs]

They call them "monos mapache" with "mono" meaning monkeys. They aren't monkeys. There is a tiny island off the coast of Puerto Rico that has actual monkeys. If I'm not mistaken, those are runaways from a lab or descendants of the runaways and not native either. They have been there for years.

 

[NALs]

If Medio Ambiente is smart they’ll either eliminate the population or send them to the zoo where they can’t cause problems.

They’re not cute and cuddly and should be treated as the wild animals/invasive species they are.

Are they really a threat on Isla Catalina? They could be a problem on Hispaniola, but what animals live on Isla Catalina except some migratory birds and maybe sea turtles that deposit eggs in the sand of several beaches?

 

[Sol09]

If Medio Ambiente is smart they’ll either eliminate the population or send them to the zoo where they can’t cause problems.

They’re not cute and cuddly and should be treated as the wild animals/invasive species they are.

They are trying to, but the people who caught it are demanding a 100,000 DOP reward in exchange for it.

 

[JD Jones]

They are trying to, but the people who caught it are demanding a 100,000 DOP reward in exchange for it.

Now resolved and is now in the hands of govt. authorities.

 

[william webster]

Would be interesting to learn how it got here --- thru customs.

 

[johne]

Would be interesting to learn how it got here --- thru customs.

LOL. But did they show their shots report? Including rabies and covid??