The Racoon and the clam

M

marvin4239

New member
I walked out on my dock this morning to empty my crab traps (had 19 plus 2 soft shells) and on the way back in I noticed a racoon about four foot from the dock in the marsh grass. This isn't unusual but this time he didn't move just stared at me. My first thought was rabid racoon and I went to the house and got my pistol and when I returned he was still in the same spot just staring at me. He didn't show any signs of being rabid so I tried to feed him some vienna sausages. Little guy wasn't any to happy when I threw them to him. Thats when I noticed there seemed to be something wrong with his hind leg. When I looked closer I noticed he had his foot caught in a big clam about the size of a soft ball and it was tangled up in the marsh grass. I've seem marsh birds in this situation but never a racoon. I checked on him several times during the day and he was still there. If he isn't free by morning I'll get a snare and try to free him. If you look at the lower right hand portion of the picture you can see the clam. About this time last year in the same spot I found about a four foot sand shark dead with a crab trap stuck in it's jaws. Always something new to entertain you on the ICW.

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Anna Leigh":2yfvbdsp said:
Why not just shoot the clam. Probably scare the poor racoon to death though.
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I thought about that but was afraid it might hurt his foot. My daughter was so distressed about poor Mr Coon I tried to free him by fashioning a snare out of some 3/4 pvc and 1/4 rope. I learned Coons don't like to be snared and can bite right through a pair of welding gloves. Fortunately he missed my hand. He's resting peacefully and tommorrow I'll call NE Florida Wildlife Coalition if he isn't free. Amazing how quick those suckers are even with a two pound clam hanging on their foot.
 
You're a brave man for trying. Glad you didn't get bit.

If he keeps the clam out of water for long enough, won't it just die and open up on it's own?
 
rogerbum":15rlckql said:
You're a brave man for trying. Glad you didn't get bit.

If he keeps the clam out of water for long enough, won't it just die and open up on it's own?
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Yeah the clam will eventually die in a few days and open but what you really can't tell in the picture is he's in a tidal marsh and at high tide there's about two feet of water where he was trapped. I did manage to drag him to drier land but he didn't seem to appreciate my help. He was thrashing around so much I was afraid of damaging his leg. Where's Steve Irwin when you need him?
 
Thanks for sharing your adventure with the two critters. I wish I had a solution for you. Keep trying.

Fred, Pat and Mr. Grey(the cat)

PS We will be living for two weeks along the ICW near Lake O. We will have to keep Mr. Grey away from the water. I don't think he would fair very well with the clam or the coon.
 
teflonmom":3qi4ya8w said:
PS We will be living for two weeks along the ICW near Lake O. We will have to keep Mr. Grey away from the water. I don't think he would fair very well with the clam or the coon.
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I wouldn't worry to much about the racoons bothering Mr Grey they come up on my porch and eat with my 3 outside cats but the picture below is the security guard at the Indiantown Marina on the Okeechobee Canal. He was about 40' from my slip.

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We have been to Indiantown many times and have probably seen that gator. Do they still have the two turtles that come alongside and beg at the fuel dock? By the way how is the racoon and the clam making out?

Fred, Pat and Mr Grey(the cat)
 
Racoon apparently freed himself. I checked on him this morning and he was gone so I guess the clam opened up. The photo of the gator was taken last Feb. when I made a trip to Sanabel. The turtles are still there at Indiantown plus there was a manatee that swam all around the gator so I don't think gators eat manatee's. Thats quite a group at Indiantown Marina on Saturday nights they have a pot luck dinner barbeque.
 
I don't mean to derail the thread but somewhere in the C-Brat picture library is a photo-shopped picture of someone playing frisbee with a giant alligator. It's a funny picture...can anyone recall the owner/link?

Thanks
 
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