Weekend Report: The Raccoons of South Brooklyn

Central Park may have its coyote (did not survive) and the Bronx its deer (again, did not survive). And, Williamsburg may have its hipsters (who may not survive either, once thousands of luxury condo units go up). Gowanus Lounge is happy to note, however, that South Brooklyn--and particularly Park Slope--has raccoons. So many raccoons, in fact, that on many nights they can be seen cavorting on neighborhood streets, hanging out in the trees and being territorial on decks and in yards (of those that have them). One veterinarian on Park West who lets visiting dogs hang in the backyard is so afraid of a Yorkie entering into nasty dog-raccoon combat that he's trying to trap them for relocation purposes. (The cool photo here is a raccoon in Kensington posted by Finster on flickr.) Raccoons in South Brooklyn are nothing new, but the population seems to be increasing. At is turns out, New York City has the state's most dense concentration of raccoons. (Who knew?) Of course, no sooner do you get excited about the Brooklyn raccoons, than someone comes along and rains on your parade with stories about rabid raccoons. GL still likes them better than the usual wildlife--pigeons, squirrels, rats, etc.