Aren't they cute?

Yesterday, V, M and I walked to the park close to my apartment. We spent about an hour there and the kids got a chance to run around a bit. When we first arrived, there were a lot of people just milling around in the parking lot, which we had to walk through lengthwise to get to the playground area. We wondered what all the commotion was about.

As it turned out, all of the attention was focused on these two critters whose mother was nowhere to be found. Since cars driving down the road parallel to the park travel between 35-50 mph, the consensus was that momma got run over by a car, even though there was no evidence of roadkill nearby. So one woman stood between the 'coons and the road, following them but not getting too close, while her boyfriend called animal rescue and found an empty cardboard box.

We stood by and watched as one 'coon temporarily got his head stuck in the fence, and followed as the 'coons eventually made it to the woods bordering the park. V and M wanted to get real close but I warned them to keep their distance. Even though the babies were cute, they are still wild animals and can bite or scratch in defense if threatened.

After a while V and M went off to play on the swings and such, while I took a seat at a nearby picnic table to watch them and read a book. As far as I know, the 'coons were not removed from the woods and animal rescue didn't come in time to get them. Hopefully these raccoons are old enough to survive without their mother.