VIDEO: Man Feeds Dozens of Raccoons As Per Wife's Dying Wish

Raccoon whisperer
Source: Youtube channel "Raccoon Whisperer"

A Youtube channel from our neighbor to the north calls himself the Raccoon Whisperer, and he's got a pretty popular channel on which he feeds an increasingly tubby group of Canadian raccoons on his porch.  The videos are undeniably fun to watch; the older gentleman is clearly an animal lover, and he's a friendly, even grandfatherly presence.

The project begins with a sad story.  Jim Blackwood, a retired mountie and all-around very kind human being, and his wife lived on the coast of Novia Scotia, in a heavily wooded area far from other people.  They started by discovering some orphan raccoons and taking care of them, and every year more raccoon kits are brought to the house to meet Jim.  When Jim's wife died of cancer in 2003, she begged him to continue to take care of the raccoons, which he promised to do.  He has fed the raccoons once a day ever since.

The raccoons clearly love him, though this may be as much the product of the gigantic raccoon feasts over which he prevails as his winning personality.  Just over the course of this video, the man dispatches with 20 pounds of hot dogs, 2 bags of grapes and some cookies!

Raccoon Whisperer
Source: Youtube channel "Racoon Whisperer"

Now, ordinarily, we take the stance that feeding wild animals is not, as a rule, a good idea.  Especially when it comes to bears and wild predators, feeding the animal increases their reliance on humans, which in turn increases their aggressiveness when that free cache of food dries up.  But the Racoon Whisperer says that he treats the animals for a variety of ticks, diseases (including rabies), and parasites and that aside from occasional fits of feline distemper, the animals are healthy.  There are also no other humans around for the raccoons to disrupt.  

The videos are also, with apologies to the rules of conservation, very cute.  The raccoons collect their hot dogs politely, standing up, with both little paws.  

So is it ok to feed a non-dangerous animal in the wild?  Because though what Jim is doing is certainly altering the little ecosystem of raccoons in his immediate area, it doesn't seem like he's hurting them much, does he?  Even if they do seem a little corpulent for raccoons, but hey, we can't be throwing stones in that direction. 

See the whole video below!

Source: Youtube channel "Raccoon Whisperer"

Leave a Comment Here

Anonymous (not verified) , Wed, 11/11/2020 - 03:22
Saying thst he should feed them better food or a healthier diet is CRAZY. They naturally live close to humans JUST to tear up the tradh. So they eat our leftover junk food when ledt to their own devices regardless. At least he is fattening them up for the winter.

Our american racoons font have to nest or stay in for the winter. Hes in canada, not america.
Sharigerber9 (not verified) , Wed, 11/11/2020 - 07:14
How sweet. He and his wife had been doing this for 20 years. Very interesting that he knows that most of them will move on to new territories and new raccoons will be there next year. A cute TV series of this man feeding the raccoons. It was nice to listen to him talk of life.
Anonymous (not verified) , Wed, 11/11/2020 - 08:11
He thinks he's feeding raccoons. He's really fattening them up to feed a Coyote someday soon. Nature has a way of dealing with anomalies like a large population of fat raccoons that cant run away.
Then he will have a neighborhood of too many raccoons or wolves with no more fat Raccons. THATS why the cat looks nervous. he knows how this works
Jen (not verified) , Wed, 11/11/2020 - 10:44
Having worked at more than one wildlife rescue for many years now. I can say the food choices aren't too bad for them, especially going into a Canadian winter and with the largest amount being dog food, which is very low in fat. They aren't as big as they look either, thier winter coat is thick and fluffy. If he gets a new set of raccoons each year, he's not having much much effect on thier foraging skills either. Possums are even better to help, they usually only live a year in the wild and they love to eat ticks.
Joanne M (not verified) , Tue, 11/17/2020 - 18:59
All of the raccoons in the video were born this spring. The raccoon parents usually leave the babies, knowing that Jim will take care of them, and they move on to a different territory. Here in Nova Scotia, we can have some pretty harsh winters. Jim fattens them up, so when they go into torpor, they will make it just fine. They also look after themselves. They forage in the forest near by, so they don't count on Jim for everything. They seem to love him - one of them who gets behind Jim on the railing actually gives Jim a "kiss" before he gets his hot dog lol Everyone loves Jim and the raccoons, and with the way things have been going this year, people are really finding joy and peace watching Jim's nightly videos.
Kelly Struthers (not verified) , Wed, 11/11/2020 - 12:53
What a great guy” yay to him”
Len Bulmer (not verified) , Wed, 11/11/2020 - 20:31
Believe it or not but this guy is probably south of you . I am from that part of Canada. The fattest raccoons ever!
Laurie Edwards (not verified) , Thu, 11/12/2020 - 21:36
He’s also a very accomplished musician. Love The Raccoon Whisperer
Anita Michalczewski (not verified) , Fri, 11/13/2020 - 07:26
I know Jim ands he is a wonderful person. He also has two beautiful rescue cats.
I also feed raccoons here in Ontario and some of them are able to live extra long. I have a female that comes around for 7 years now. My cottage is in the middle of nowhere, so this doesn't bother my neighbors. Raccoons are very smart animals and a very good mothers. Some humans could learn from them.
Rita Mayer (not verified) , Sun, 11/22/2020 - 16:33
My mom use to feed the Raccoon in our back yard in Burnaby BC......my dad worked in a bakery would bring home cake ends or cakes that would pass for the stores....so my mom would put cake out tub of water....sometime eggs and grapes....I have fond memories of my mom and dad feeding Raccoons this video brought a flood of them back.....thank you....
Michael McQuown (not verified) , Tue, 09/21/2021 - 14:50
Raccoons as pets don't work out well. As they get older, they tend to get bad-tempered. Best thing is to get them to a wildlife reserve or rehab center when they are young. I feed stray and feral cats, and the raccoons and opossums happily share in the bounty. One year, I trapped 11 coons on my front porch in 2 days. The worst part was keeping them overnight and listening to the heartbreaking trill they made.
Kathleen Stockman (not verified) , Thu, 04/28/2022 - 09:11
Love, love, love..we live out in the country in Alabama and feed the deer, squirrels, birds etc.. the deer arrive every morning and evening for their snack. We love being able to love on God's creation.
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