I turned Summer and Solstice loose almost a week ago. They disappeared for three days, then reappeared, hungry, so I fed them again.
Since that time, Summer has not come back, but Solstice has been a frequent diner in the henhouse. He is very chatty. Perhaps he misses Summer.
But Summer was a bully, hogging most of the food for himself. He growled at Solstice a lot whenever food was involved. It’s possible he has moved on, joined neighborhood raccoons, or been taken by a predator. I haven’t written him off as deceased yet; they may have just separated (they’re both males) so he may reappear at any time. And losing a released ward to predation is a risk I took every time I have ever returned a wild one to his natural habitat. But that’s where they belong, so that’s where they go.
My cats have done fine in the same areas Solstice has access to. And Solstice has chosen a huge tree to live in, just 10 or 12 feet from my side fence; he’s high and safe from ground predators and invisible to aerial predators there, and he’s just steps away from the fence that keeps the goats safe from coyotes.
Northwest Trek has one small area for raccoons, perhaps twice the size of my living room. I doubt Solstice would be happy there with the one raccoon they have because the raccoon is an adult (I don’t know its sex). He would be totally safe there, though. I just don’t know if they would take him, and I haven’t decided that’s what’s best for him, anyway.
No other release place I know of is any safer than here. I know right where he is. He has claimed the biggest tree outside my fence. It has huge spreading branches and he hangs out in it about ten to fifteen feet off the ground (when he isn’t in the henhouse eating). He sleeps on a big branch, and plays on the branches with what looks to me like raccoon joy. He can see and hear everything below him from his elevated vantage point. I think he’s as safe there as he would be anywhere else I could release him. And I can keep my eye on him this way. He isn’t afraid of me. In fact, I can call him to come in and he will race to the henhouse for food, although I have NOT tamed him. There are other raccoons in this neighborhood, so he may take up with one or more of them at any time.
He’s getting to know the cats and he disperses the goats in a hurry if they get between him and the henhouse when he’s making a beeline toward it. (I think the goats think he’s a furry little dog!)
It’s lovely that he is comfortable enough around me to listen for me to come out and put food in his bowls and refresh the water dishes. When he comes running across the goat pasture lickety-split to eat what I make (eggs) or buy (grapes, crickets, goldfish) for him, it warms my heart. At some point he will find a mate and exit my life, but for right now, he is a frequent smile bringer to me.
