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From the wall of trees a raccoon burst onto the lawn. Then another right behind it in pursuit. A big frisky male, maybe the one that had spooked Daisy. It was strange to see them in the daytime. And running so fast. Usually they were tentative as they approached, hoping for a piece of toast or lettuce. Terry loved watching them, not just because it made her feel close to nature but because they were so graceful in their movements, especially their upper bodies and black little hands, so precise and delicate, and the way they placed them on the ground like ballet dancers. But not today. This was hot pursuit. The fires of spring. The fires of spring. She tried to recall the source poem while watching the raccoons cavort. |
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From the distance they appeared like Disney characters in bandito faces and bushy ringtails trundling in tandem across the grass. As they got closer she could hear a hissing noise. Then amazingly the female shot up the trunk of the maple tree like a squirrel, ran across the heavier branches with the male right behind her in obedience to some ancient internal rules. The kind we all danced to, she thought. Maybe she was about to witness their mating. That would be something. |
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But when the female reached the end of the branch, she froze, with nowhere to go but down. She regarded the seven-foot drop, then leapt to the ground before the male could reach her. It was a clumsy jump for her short legs, and before she got to her feet the male flew through the air onto her hindquarters. There were some raucous noises Terry didn't think possible for raccoons. In a lightning swipe of a claw, the male pulled up her tail, dug his claws into her sides and clamped his jaws on the nape of her neck as a pink flash spiked itself into her rear. |
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Was this normal raccoon mating behavior? It looked so . . . brutal. She had thought raccoons such gentle creatures, like big cartoon cats with hands. |
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The female let out a squeal as the male drove her, held her clamped in his teeth. The femalethe whites of her eyeballs exposed, her little mouth gaping in painstruggled to pull herself free, emitting a high-pitched scream. When the male finished, he rolled her onto her back and bit into her lower abdomen, ripping through the soft white undersides with his teeth. Terry let out a cry |
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