I try not to be too humanocentric in my dealings with the wildlife population here. I’m willing to put up with some inconvenience and irritation in most instances in favor of the critters having their own jobs to do, not directly intending anything personal. I haul away snakes and try to discourage the deer. If a creature will agree not to bother my cats and chickens I’ll generally agree to keeping the .22 behind the door where it can be peaceful and quiet.
But sometimes an animal gets insistent about leaping out of this lifetime into whatever place it figures members of its own species go when they die. Coons tend to be of this nature.
This particular one’s been fighting a protracted battle with me for a month, at least. Trying to dig into the chicken fortress at night, me stretching chain with treble-hooks wired to the links to discourage it days. Brother Coon moving to another spot, starting again. Me cutting prickly pear, putting in the holes, stacking rocks, him digging past, gradually winning me over to his own point of view that he was destined for some help getting into the next lifetime.
Last night I finally broke down and put out the live trap.
