I mentioned in My job, and a Bunny Beatrice’s habit of coming by at specific times. Each year, at specific times, raccoon mothers will bring out their kits.
It usually goes something like this.
The mothers come more often. They need to chow down on fats and proteins to produce milk so their kits grow healthy. As they kits wean, mothers begin taking them out and teaching them how to forage, what to forage, what’s edible, what’s not, … Kind of like a parent in modern society taking a baby grocery shopping.
The mothers force the kits to remain in the treetops and observe mostly, then after a week or two, join in. The kits observe closely, especially when the mothers signal there could be danger.
Enter The Cookie Man and Scary Voice Lady, aka me and Susan. Susan is Scary Voice Lady because our wildlife interacts with me far more than her, and they are wary of new and different.
At least that use to be the case. Now she’s one of the good Two-Leggers, but names for things often span generations and so it is with Susan.
At a certain point the kits notice momma coming to us for food. The mothers signal the kits we’re safe, but only us. No other Two-Leggers are safe.
Seems that message get transmitted generationally, too. Coyote, Fox, Deer, Opossun, Hawk, Snake, Spider, Chipmunk, Owl, you name it, they know we’re safe.
All bring their pups, kits, fledglings, fawn, hatchlings, and show we’re safe.
And you know what? We like it that way.
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