I love raccoons. They’re smart little problem-solvers, who have learned to adapt into a landscape that’s difficult to navigate for a non-human animal and taken up an essential role in many ecosystems. But the furry bandits’ cuteness isn’t enough to prevent media from maligning them, social media posts blaming them for human-centric problems, and keeping them safe when conflict does occur. That said, their cuteness can be too much: some advocates and animal lovers may go too far in trying to help raccoons, which creates new issues, from generating future conflict to disease transmission.

To sort it all out, and understand what raccoons are up to this time of year – as well as address a few issues that have come up in the news, like rabies – I connected with Cara Contardi of Urban Wildlife Care in Grimsby, Ontario.

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