Mischief In The Park!

I immediately did what any woman of the woods would do. I began screaming
Guest Column/Highlands Hammock State Park/July 2005
Dorothy L. Harris, Park Services Specialist
You may have heard the saying, “an interesting thing happened on my way to the office this morning”, but I had an interesting thing happen when I was leaving work the other day. Like many other folks, I try to maintain a regular schedule of exercising. Unfortunately like even more, I often fail in keeping that commitment to myself!

On this day, however, I decided I would definitely go for a run after work. Even though it is dreadfully hot right now, the deeply shaded loop drive through the hammock remains rather nice for afternoon runs. If it rains early, the atmosphere is even better, as the rain drips from the giant oaks overhead, and the breeze cools your skin.
While I got ready for my run, I decided to put down the windows of my van just a bit to let off some of the heat that had built up during the day. It looked like rain, but my vehicle has those handy rain shields over the windows, so I wasn’t really worried about the impending storm. Also, I was just going to go back inside and check on a few things before I left for the day.
I am usually in a big hurry at the end of the day, so I just toss my stuff in the van and go. Today though, I had a bit of extra time, so I wasn’t rushing as usual. That turned out to be a very good thing. As I began loading items into my van, I noticed that there was a mess of papers, hair bows, crayons, and such strewn around inside of it.

I must be honest here and tell you that my van, like most busy moms, is usually a bit messy. With all the fun things there are to do, and our family’s many interests, our van stays pretty well stocked with stuff. This mess however had not been there that morning. Then, I suddenly saw movement behind my seat.
Sitting there looking pretty freaked out was a medium sized raccoon!
Sitting there looking pretty freaked out was a medium sized raccoon! Needless to say he wasn’t the only one looking that way for long!
I immediately did what any woman of the woods would do. I began screaming “Oh no! Get out of my van, now!” Well, apparently this idea had already occurred to Mr. Raccoon, and so he did not hesitate in climbing over to the passenger window. Keep in mind, please, that this window was open only about four inches, so he had to struggle mightily to squeeze his fat little self out that small opening.
If you can picture the scene, there I am Ms. Park Ranger-lady, loaded down with bags, cameras, and my purse screaming into my van in the intense heat of the afternoon. It would have made a great vacation photo momento, I am sure! When Mr. Raccoon finally “popped out” that barely open window, he wasted no time taking off to the woods beyond my office.
I stood laughing, basically shocked over what had just happened. My family and I had even lived in the park for a time and nothing like this had ever occurred. Well, then again, we had Chimney swifts in our chimney, frogs in the playhouse, a mouse in our van once, and a snake or two on our screen room, but never such a bold raccoon!
I was so thankful that my windows had only been opened for just a few minutes, and that there was no food, or food-related trash inside the vehicle. Interestingly enough, a tube of vanilla hand cream and a bottle of Gorilla Glue had been bitten into. Apparently the Gorilla Glue was deemed more flavorful, as he had tried to escape with it. Alas, my “furry friend” never got to finish his deadly snack, since I had interrupted his mischief! It also had no time, thankfully, to damage my vehicle’s interior, or to soil anything.
This humorous story illustrates a very important principal. Humans should never feed wildlife, not just because it is bad for the animal, but because of the negative human-wildlife interactions it leads to.

Throughout the winter months, many campers and visitors have either fed the park’s raccoons, or have inadvertently done so through the careless handling of their food or trash. Because of this, these raccoons have learned that people, and now apparently their vehicles, equal a free meal. For obvious reasons, this is both damaging and possibly dangerous.

I’m just thankful that my encounter only equaled a funny story and a couple of paint scratches. It actually could have been much more dramatic if I had just jumped into my van and head on home with a dangerous stowaway.

So please keep this story in mind next time you visit Highlands Hammock or any other State Park. Remember not to feed any of the animals you might see, or be careless when discarding your leftovers.

Scattering picnic leftovers “for the animals” may seem harmless, but eventually they become very bold and begin to approach humans for food long before lunch ends.
As far as “Mr. Breaking and Entering” is concerned, he will be humanely trapped and moved to another section of park property to serve out his time. Hopefully as he fishes for crawdads and forages for berries he will forget his evil deeds and return to a better life in the wilds of “the Real Florida” where he belongs!
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