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Young Heroes Vol 1 - Issue #8 "Sharkattack"
*Nik felt like he'd been swimming for hours in the dark waters pursuing after the boat, it always just being inches away from his reach. His muscles burned from exhaustion, so much so he thought that if he wasn't in water his body would have combusted. He wasn't going to leave Felix behind though. Those smugglers had got him somehow and the boat could've been long gone by the time A.N.G.E.L. got notified. They should have told Vega when they found out where the Meta Smugglers were but no, they wanted to take them on. It was his fault and if he died getting Felix back then so be it. Emoji would be angry for him leaving her, she'd probably revive and kill him herself. Nik smiles at the thought of her and grits his teeth swimming even harder till he grabs the boat that relentlessly drags him through the water. He screams in agony pulling himself on deck panting, his eyes close but he forces them open, only to see a guard aiming his gun at him.*
Nik: "Just my luck..."
*He stares up at the gun breathing shakily as he watches the guard about to pull the trigger. Until something slams into the side of the boat like an underwater train, it tilts to its side in the water knocking the armed guard off along with Nik, luckily he grabs the side of the boat as his legs sweep away in the current. He stares up at the boat that's about to capsize and watches helplessly as the loose container Felix is in snaps free from its restraints and fall past him. It strikes the water and the children can be heard screaming inside.*
Nik: "No, Felix!"
*Nik drops from the boat as it stabilises itself from the impact of whatever hit it and he lands back into the cold water making him shudder. He swims over to the container which creaks as it slowly begins to submerge drowning out the muffled screams of the children inside. Nik starts to unlock the bolt of the container but something grabs his leg with a vice like grip and drags him under the water. He thrashes wildly in the water holding his breath and looks down seeing the villain, Sharkattack. Nik slams his foot repeatedly off its rubberised nose till he realises this is not a humanoid shark, it's a man underneath. He remembered seeing him on the news, so stupid he thought, but now all he could think of was how badly screwed he was.*
_________________________________________________
Felix: "D-Don't worry, I'll get us out of here!"
*Felix was lying though, he didn't know how to get the other kids out. The water had already started to seep in making their feet wet and the special cuffs they all had on somehow stopped their powers. The kids were climbing over each other trying to stay above the water that filled it up like a bathtub. Felix noticed that one of the bad men couldn't make his cuffs fit him, he was too small. Felix knew what he had to do though. He cried out in pain scratching the cuffs over his red raw wrists edging them painfully over his hand and off. He looked down at his bloodied wrist through watering eyes and bit his lip in pain pulling the cuff off his other tiny hand. The other kids ignored him, pounding on the crate as it tilts back piling them on top of one another crushing him against the back of the container. Felix closes his eyes tightly hearing the screams of the kids ring in his ears, he held back his Monster, he was scared it would hurt them. He was terrified of the monster inside him but maybe if he told it what to do it would listen.*
Felix: "Help them!"
*Felix falls under the water as it gushes in rising to the top. It's then his body glows and his radiant Monster climbs out from him materialising, it turns seeing Felix watching him with large blue eyes which ignite the murky waters. Felix points to the other kids that thrash in the water struggling to breathe and the monster turns its back on him grabbing the children in its large hands hugging them tightly together. It turns to Felix but it can't carry him too, reluctantly the monster bursts out swimming powerfully up to the surface. Felix whimpers in the water inhaling it, starving for oxygen. He begins to black out and he floats back in the water seeing his monster carry the kids to the top. His eyes begin to close and no longer is he panicking, he smiles looking up and that's when he sees Hope fly down through the water inside the sinking container grabbing him tightly.*
The Los Angeles Fire Department was notified at 3:22 PM of a brush fire in Porter Ranch on August 9, 2018. LAFD and LACoFD air and ground crews arrived to find grass and vegetation burning in a draw surrounded by homes. Fortunately, the quick actions by both departments stopped the flames at just 2 acres in just over 30 minutes. No structures were damaged and no injuries reported. © Photo by Mike Meadows
LAFD Incident: 080918-1087
Connect with us: LAFD.ORG | News | Facebook | Instagram | Reddit | Twitter: @LAFD @LAFDtalk
After ditching sunday service 18A, EYMS notified local councils that from early May they were going to withdraw service 18 as well meaning there would be no service to York from Bubwith, North Duffield, Thorganby etc, but Holme on Spalding Moor would be served by some 46 services being re-routed. An interim timetable is being used for the time being with EYMS still running the 18 but with just a single vehicle - the first journey of the day coming from the depot starts at Holme whilst the last journey of the day leaving York goes all the way to Holme as the bus then goes back to the depot, but all services in between terminate short at either Bubwith, North Duffield, or Wheldrake and East Riding council then uses one of their fleet to fill in the gap.... A longer term solution is expected soon though, and I wouldn't be surprised if the result is that both services going through Wheldrake are then run by the same company.
Seen on the very last day of full service, Volvo B5TL MCV EvoSeti BF67 GHN is just east of Wheldrake taking the 18 to Holme. The bus itself dons branding for the Hull-Scarborough 121 service, which somewhat ironically also ended on this day too before being split into two seperate services.
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Service: Gloucestershire Constabulary
Area: Gloucester
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Model: 330D
Year: 2012
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Type: ANPR Equipped Roads Policing Unit
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After ditching sunday service 18A, EYMS notified local councils that from early May they were going to withdraw service 18 as well meaning there would be no service to York from Bubwith, North Duffield, Thorganby etc, but Holme on Spalding Moor would be served by some 46 services being re-routed. An interim timetable is being used for the time being with EYMS still running the 18 but with just a single vehicle - the first journey of the day coming from the depot starts at Holme whilst the last journey of the day leaving York goes all the way to Holme as the bus then goes back to the depot, but all services in between terminate short at either Bubwith, North Duffield, or Wheldrake and East Riding council then uses one of their fleet to fill in the gap.... A longer term solution is expected soon though, and I wouldn't be surprised if the result is that both services going through Wheldrake are then run by the same company.
Seen on the very last day of full service, Volvo B5TL MCV EvoSeti BF67 GHN is between HOSM and Bubwith taking the 18 to York; under the new timetable this sight will only be seen once a day in this direction first thing in the morning and an extra journey this way on a friday and saturday. The bus itself dons branding for the Hull-Scarborough 121 service, which somewhat ironically also ended on this day too before being split into two seperate services.
The Los Angeles Fire Department was notified by the first of several 9-1-1 calls at 1:03 PM on September 21, 2022 to respond to a brush fire in the hills north of La Tuna Canyon Road. Firefighters arrived quickly to find approximately 5 acres of brush burning in steep and remote terrain.
Under the command of LAFD Assistant Chief Corey Rose, a well-coordinated ground and air assault slowed the forward progress of the fire in a matter of hours, preventing the need for any threat to or evacuations of nearby homes. During the swift mutual aid response from five agencies, firefighters took advantage of the temperature, wind, and former burn scar from the 2017 La Tuna Fire, all of which enabled crews to keep this fire being stopped at just over 100 acres, rather than thousands.
Fire crews remained long after the flames were eliminated, improving containment lines, and mopping up hot spots and smoldering debris. Thankfully no structures were threatened by the advancing flames, and no injuries were reported.
The cause of the major emergency blaze, known as the Land Fire, remains under active investigation.
A special thank you goes out to all of our Foothill Mutual Threat Zone cooperators who respond with the LAFD on a variety of emergencies on a regular basis. Today, those included Los Angeles County Fire Department, US Forest Service (Angeles National Forest), Burbank Fire Department, and Glendale Fire Department.
© Photo by Mike Meadows
LAFD Incident: 092122-0837
Connect with us: LAFD.ORG | News | Facebook | Instagram | Reddit | Twitter: @LAFD @LAFDtalk
"On initial contact, notify tower you have information 'alien'."
Some creative minds successfully break formal font rules and create these flyers.
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Service: Gloucestershire Constabulary
Area: Gloucester
Make: Mercedes-Benz
Model: Sprinter
Year: 2016
Plate: Not Yet Registered
Type: Public Order Van
Force/Organisation: Gloucestershire Constabulary
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1972 Morris van.
Anglia Car Auctions, King's Lynn -
"V5 Present
MoT Exempt
Chassis number: MAE5307529
"Although this Morris Minor LCV (van) now wears Automobile Association yellow livery, it's believed that it was originally a PO Telephones van based in Cambridge, and was restored as an AA van from 2008 to 2009. Its colour change, from black to yellow, was notified to the DVLA in February 2009.
"The Minor was registered in February 1972 and now shows 83,203 miles on its odometer, although as there is no paperwork beyond the V5C, this cannot be warranted. Its last MoT expired in June 2012; as an historic vehicle, it no longer requires testing.
"Having been restored around 13 years ago, the van now shows some signs of age ‑ such as the occasional bubble under the paint ‑ but overall presents very well, inside and out. It even features a vintage Falcon of Japan radio communications set plus a roof‑mouted AA Service light and flashing beacon."
Sold for £10,584 including premium.
I entered this and more shots into the Great Backyard Bird Count photo contest back in February. They notified me Two weeks ago that I had gotten 3rd place in the Behavior category. I did not want to post anything till I saw it on there web page. I have been doing this bird count for the past 5 or 6 years now. It is held in the middle of February every year. I took this picture at Bluff Point State park, in Groton Connecticut. You can only enter photos for this during the Bird count. Here is more info on it.
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Wildlife Photography, Jungle.
Today has been called off.
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We'll see what tomorrow brings.
Jungle Journalism, my style .
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Jon&Crew.
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Batman and Robin received a call from a concerned citizen notifying them that The Penguin and Gorilla Grodd were roaming the streets.
Batman and Robin are from the DC Comics series 1 buildable figurines. Chuck and Gordon are monskeys, and not super villains.
Day 206 0f 366.
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Service: South Western Ambulance Service
Area: Cheltenham
Make: Skoda
Model: Octavia Scout
Year: 2015
Plate: WG15 PGZ
Type: Rapid Response Vehicle
Force/Organisation: NHS
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Garasia tribal people on the weekly market in Ambaji.
Garasia, an interesting ethnic group inhabiting the Aravali foothills of remote Sabarkatha district in Gujarat has a curious history. Though a depressed class and classified as a de-notified tribe, the Garasias resembles closely with the advanced Rajput clans in many ways. Due to these, the British administration had even categorized the Garasias as a branch of Rajputs who were petty land holders. Even today amidst poverty and deep isolation I was surprised to see Garasias not only as prime agriculturalists but also holders of large chunk of lands in the remote slopes of Aravali Mountains. Their houses are widely dispersed each surround by a large farmstead.
Yet the Garasias are poor and deprived of basic services like, health, education and safe drinking water. Farming is mostly rain fed. According to historical records, in colonial India as land became scarce both through colonial expansion and slash-and-burn agriculture Garasias became further marginalized and associated themselves with Bhils, a more primitive tribal group. The nationalist movement created further division between groups as the Rajput identity was grounded in traditional customs and their heritage as rulers.
Garasias of Sabarkatha form two distinct groups – the Garasia Rajputs and the Garasia Bhils.
The Garasia Rajputs: In the medieval time the Rajputs from Rajasthan and surrounding plains of Gujarat had appropriated Bhil territories and in part to strengthen their rule and maintain peace, some of them married to Bhil women.
Their offspring formed a distinct caste – the Garasia Rajputs. They served as delegates between the ruling Rajputs and Bhils. The Garasia Rajputs are a lower status caste than the Rajputs but consider themselves higher to Bhils with whom
they do not inter marry. Garasia Rajputs see themselves as tribalized Rajputs and they believe that that their Rajput ancestors moved to remote forest to avoid subjugation by a conquering group.
The Garasia Bhils: The Garasia Bhils are those who married to Bhil women and were not accepted into Garasia society because of the lower status of the Bhils. The Bhil Garasias are also called Dungri Garasias.
The Garasias live mostly in huts consisting of two/three rooms with mud wall partitions. The roofs are built of flat tiled roofs. There is a smaller hut attached to the main one meant for cattle. However, for the other animals like goats and hens there are open air facilities. The Garasia women are known for their colourful attires and silver jewellery. Dhols (drums) and bow-arrows are also part of the material culture of the Garasias.
The huts belonging to various families are widely dispersed and there is no central place where people can meet together. I visited a few houses in the village and while interacting with the inhabitants I discovered the gender divisions - women’s responsibility include cooking, tending to cattle, milking the animals and looking after the children. The men do the physical labour such as ploughing, harvesting and building the houses. There is a strong prevalence of joint family system though there is very little unity or cooperation between the village clans.
On 2008-11-22, a friend notified me that our "little Flickr sister" Hawaiian Moana / Trough_Hawaiian_eyes has suffered a serious traffic accident . Join me in prayer and thought for her and her family, my friends. Her stream is at
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Service: Avon and Somerset Police
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Year: 2015
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Type: Unmarked ANPR Equipped Traffic Unit
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Verinag is a town and a notified area committee in Anantnag district in the state of Jammu & Kashmir, India. It is about 26 kilometers away from Anantnag and approximately 78 kilometeres south-east from Srinagar which is the summer capital of the state of Jammu & Kashmir. Verinag is also the first tourist spot of Kashmir Valley when travelling by road from Jammu, the winter capital of the state of Jammu and Kashmir towards Srinagar, the summer capital of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It lies at the entry point of Kashmir Valley right after crossing Jawahar Tunnel.
A major tourist attraction of this place is Verinag Spring, for which this place is named. There is an octagonal stone basin at Verinag Spring and an arcade surrounding it which were built by Mughal emperor Jahangir in 1620 A.D. Later, a beautiful garden next to this spring, was laid out by his son Shah Jahan. This spring is known to never dry up or overflow. Verinag Spring is also the major source of river Jhelum. Verinag Spring and Mughal Arcade surrounding it is officially recognized by Archaeological Survey of India as a Monument of National Importance.
You can chose your 3 favourite photos from this set!
Once you've decided, just leave them as a comment on this photo and you'll find out if you've won by the 30th November 2012. I will pick 5 overall winners. This time, I'll pick the winners at random so everyone has a chance. It's totally free and you wont have to pay anything because i'm feeling nice.
plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/schlumbergera-truncata/
*The Flickr Bot "flagged" this and changed the view to Restricted! This is only the second time that the bot has mistaken one of my macro photos as something other than a flower! If this happens you are notified and can change it back to safe view.
Snowy Egrets 'point' toward the sky and vocalize with 'Walla Walla' to notify mates of their spectacular plumage and readiness.
Boom!
Both Barry and Eradicator turn to the sound, watching as smoke and electricity surges from across the plant. Barry's eyes widen as his crushed arm begins to heal. Eradicator notices as well, both watching the flames all die out.
Barry smiles to himself, thanking August as he dashes forward. His fist slams into Eradicator's faceplate, shattering the metal into hundreds of pieces. Eradicator is sent careening through the air, crashing into one of the generators. Barry is quick to follow up, grabbing Eradicator's cape and spinning himself into a whirlwind. The cape eventually tears, Eradicator flying over the gate into the forest outside the plant.
Barry runs over to Joe, who is holding Daniel as he regains consciousness. "Joe, you need to get him out of here," Barry orders, turning towards where the explosion occurred. "I'll go make sure August is okay and meet you at th- AGHHHH!"
"Flash!?" Joe calls out.
Barry suddenly drops to his knees, holding his head. He feels like he's splitting in two, like a new presence is entering his mind. Jolts of lighting dance around his body, but they aren't gold, rather black and white. The pain is greater than anything he's ever felt, he can't help but scream.
-^-
August coughs, wafting away the smoke. He'd already discarded his jacket, the clothing had caught fire from the explosion. The sparking of the destroyed generators illuminate the powerplant, revealing Heatmonger's silhouette knelt on the ground. Panting heavily, August pulls his gun from his holster.
August storms out of Goldrush, already reaching for his phone to notify Barry. As he steps through the door, a hand grabs onto his shoulder, stopping him in place. It takes everything in him not to grab the hand and break it. He turns his head, seeing one of the various members of security for the club.
"Let go of me, now," August says, glaring at the man.
"The boss' informant lost contact, we assume he's dead," the man says, letting go of August.
"My condolences," August scoffs, walking away from the man.
"Catch," the man calls out, tossing an object to August. He examines it, eyes widening up on realizing what it was. "Bling wishes you luck."
August approaches Heatmonger, relieved that the man is unaware of his position. A small clearing has formed around him, likely the steam from his vents pushing the smoke away. August uses this to his advantage, lying in wait for his chance to strike. It's then when he notices the crack running along the right side of Heatmonger's helmet. Looking to the ground, he scoops up a chunk of metal from the destroyed generator.
Charging out of the smoke, August slams the metal down against Heatmonger's helmet. The makeshift crowbar splits the crack open wide, creating the opening he needs. With a smirk, he pulls the metal out, only to be met by a geyser of steam. He cries out as the hot air is blasted against his face, causing him to drop his gun.
August can't see out of his right eye as he stumbles backwards, slamming hard into one of the intact generators. His face feels like it's melting, his skin bubbly and burned. He tries regaining his composure, but falls to the ground, unable to take the pain. Out of his left eye, he watches the smoke around Heatmonger disperses, the villain rising to a stand. The crack in his helmet reveals his cerulean eye, surrounded by lightly burned skin.
"Big mistake, Heart," he chuckles, the visible steam still pouring from the crack, like it was smoke. "You probably thought the suit was protection, didn't you? A layer to keep me away from my flames like Heatwave?"
Flames begin surrounding Heatmonger's body like an aura. Unlike the rest of his body however, the fire near the crack in the helmet is triple the size as the rest of the flames. August winces at the heat, raising his arms to act as a shield.
"My suit's designed so I don't melt my partner… keep all the heat inside, like a furnace," he says, laughing maniacally as he trudges forward. "You've been trying to get me out of my suit to beat me, but you've dug your own-"
A flash of light shines in August's eye. For a split second, all the sound around him deafens, all but the crackling of lightning. A ball of lightning flies through the air, striking Heatmonger in the center of his chest. The attack's force is enough to send him flying through the air, crashing into one of the still intact generators. Like a domino effect, the generator explodes, fire and electricity consuming the area. The explosion causes pylons to fall, one landing on top of Heatmonger, caging him in.
August pushes through the pain, bringing himself to his knees. Turning his head, his eye widens as blue light shines on his face.
-^-
"Wally, get back inside."
Wally looks over to Eddie, then back to the powerplant. "Are you nuts!?" he says, stepping in front of the older man. "You can't walk without a cane! You can't just run into battle! You're just asking to die!"
"Barry is up there, fighting those two from the hospital," Eddie says, placing a hand on Wally's shoulder. "I let a friend fight alone before… I won't do that again."
Wally opens his mouth to protest, but is cut off by a booming of thunder. He looks up to the sky, raising an eyebrow at the sudden massing of dark clouds. "What the… Mr. Jones!?" he shouts, turning to see the man holding his head, dropping to his knees. "Mr. Jones! What's wrong!?"
The sound of another large scale explosion from the powerplant steals Wally's attention. The redhead looks between his mentor, body surging with white and black lightning, and the explosion. His breathing picks up, mind racing.
It's then when he recalls Barry's offer. The offer to be partners, to be a hero with him. Heroes don't let people die, and partners don't abandon one another.
-^-
"With all the force of a great typhoon," Wally pants with a small, triumphant smile. His red hoodie is ruined, singed from the cyan lightning dancing around him. His focus quickly shifts to August, as does his triumphant smile to a worried frown. "August, you okay? Can you stand?"
"You… have powers?" August mumbles, staring at Wally in awe. "You… you threw lightning?"
"Y-yeah… I kinda learned how an hour ago," Wally says, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck, "but that isn't important, you don't look so good, are you alright."
August doesn't speak, his head falling slightly. He stares at his hands, watching as they shake. His head. Then turns to the destroyed generator, where Heatmonger lays unconscious. His hands close into tightly clenched fists as August brings himself to a stand.
"You can, that's great!" Wally exclaimes. "We should get to Barry, he definitely needs our help."
August again ignores Wally, instead taking slow steps towards the unconscious villain. He scoops his pistol up off the ground as he walks, checking the magazine.
"A-August… he's down," Wally says, stepping in front of the man. "We'll worry about him later, Barry is fight Eradicator… alone. Please."
"Right…" August finally mumbles, eyes still locked onto Heatmonger. "Daniel and Joe are still in danger."
"Daniel and Uncle Joe are here!?"
-^-
Barry writhes on the floor in pain. He recognizes this feeling, he'd felt it mere minutes ago when he entered the other plane. Raijin is the only answer. He sees Joe and Daniel, both unphased by the neural attack. It confirms their suspicions, Raijin was somehow connected to the Speed Force.
"Daniel, help me carry h- Agh!" Joe begins, before being shocked by the lightning coursing through Barry. "Dammit, we're gonna have to… oh no."
Barry, out of the corner of his eye, sees the red cloaked man outside the fence. He raises his hand, swiping it across the metal and turning it to dust in seconds. Barry tries to stand, but is unable to move. He's forced to watch as Eradicator approaches Joe and Daniel.
"R…un… Jo…e…"
Joe begins firing shots at Eradicator as he backpedals, Daniel staying behind him. Eradicator treats the bullets like flies, swatting them away as he walks forward. Joe and Daniel turn to run, but Eradicator slams his palm onto the ground, causing it to rupture under their feet. Daniel falls backwards, Eradicator's hand clamping around his neck in seconds. Joe, seeing this, tries to fight back, but is taken down with ease and found in the same position.
"Stop… it…" Barry grunts, his fingers digging into the ground beneath him. Golden lightning begins to spread throughout his body, overpowering the black and white. He slowly pushes himself to a stand, his body wobbly. "Let them… go!"
"You're fighting back against Raijin's power?" Eradicator says, eyebrows raised in shock. "It doesn't matter how you struggle… his will shall prevail. I will mak-"
At that moment, Eradicator's eyes go white. Barry watches as he stands frozen, grip not wavering on either Joe or Daniel. Barry tries to take a step forward, but his body simply won't move. His teeth grit together as he tries to push himself, as he tries everything in his power to take that step.
"Flash," Daniel mumbles, scared out of his mind, "help us… please."
Barry screams out, slowly lifting his right foot off the ground.
"Stop."
Barry freezes in place, his foot falling back down. Eradicator kicks the back of both Joe and Daniel's knees, dropping them to the ground. His hands move from their necks to their heads, his palms wrapped around their skulls, fingers hovering just above them.
"Choose."
Barry is unmoving, breath caught in his throat. "Wh- what!?" he shouts, staring at the blood red eyes that stare back.
"Choose now," he says once more, fingers twitching with the static of the generators. "One lives, one dies… all by his will."
"I… you… dammit," Barry curses, hoping, praying the effects of Raijin's psychic attack wear off. He stands motionless, buying as much time as he can.
"He made sure you wouldn't be able to run, Flash," Eradicator says, tugging their heads up. "You can't save them both, so look at them. Look them in the eyes and choose who dies."
Joe and Daniel are both crying. Daniel is struggling, but unable to break free from Eradicator's hold, while Joe sits silently frowning. He knows what's going to happen. He knows what Joe is going to say before the words even leave his lips. He knows, no matter how much he wishes he didn't.
"Save my son… Flash," Joe says, staring into Barry's eyes. "Save him."
"No, are you crazy!?" Daniel shouts, slobber flying from his mouth. "Don't you dare! He's the best detective in this city! He's saved countless lives and can save countless more! You have to save him! You just… you have to, Flash, please! My brothers… they've both lost so many people… my dad he, he took them in. Gave them a home. They need him, so please!"
"Flash… it's okay," Joe says, smiling at Barry. "I want you to save him."
Barry bites his lip, unable to hold back his tears from flowing. It isn't fair. It isn't fair to Joe, or Daniel. Why does it have to happen to them? Why does tragedy strike people who never deserve it?
"Decide now, or both die."
Barry raises his hand, pointing to Daniel. "The boy," he mumbles, hand shaking in the air. "I… I chose to save the boy."
"No, Flash, stop!" Daniel cries, lashing out as Eradicator throws him towards Barry and places down his fingers. "You can't do this!"
Barry's body feels a sudden freedom as he grabs onto Daniel, holding him back from charging at Eradicator. He can feel Daniel's nails digging into his skin, cutting him deep. He only holds Daniel tighter, gritting his teeth.
"This isn't your fault. I know you're gonna blame yourself, it's just who you are, but please try not to. You're gonna change the world one day… and that makes me so proud to be your father," Joe mumbles as his body begins to crack. "I will always love you, son."
Tears flow from Barry's eyes as he nods, a simple gesture to Joe, as his skin begins to crackle. A gesture that says "I know, and I love you too, dad."
"No, please! Dad!" Daniel sobs, reaching out towards Eradicator, trying with all he has to break free from Barry. "I can't lose you too…"
Barry closes his eyes, hugging Daniel's body to his. He can hear the way Joe's body crumbles, chunks of stone hitting the ground before turning to ash. Daniel's resistance is all but gone, his body now limp as he leans against Barry, silent tears running down his face.
"Joe…"
Barry's eyes open, head shooting towards the voice. August stands frozen, skin burned and clothes charred. Standing behind him is Wally, his face full of terror. August's gun hits the floor as he stands, frozen.
"Joe… I…"
His head turns, eyes locking with Barry's. Barry sees something in them, something dark brewing that he'd never seen in August before. Their stare lasts only seconds before August charges at Eradicator, fist reeled back. Eradicator sidesteps the attack, grabbing August by the wrist and slamming him into the generator, hard.
"August!" Barry shouts out, letting go of Daniel and standing up. He looks over at Wally to see the boy staring at Eradicator, too terrified to move. Barry rushes forwards, but stops as the sound of thunder booms throughout the sky. Barry's head snaps to the sky, watching as familiar golden lightning surges around dark clouds.
"The time has come," Eradicator says, leaning in, whispering into August's ear. He pulls away, throwing the man to the ground. Pulling his hood over his head, he steps through the whole in the fence. "I'll be seeing you again soon."
Barry's eyes fill with lightning, ready to chase the man, but is stopped as lightning bursts from the clouds above. Wild streaks of electricity begin to rain down, colors ranging from gold to blue to red. Without a moment to think, Barry runs to Daniel, watching as one of the lightning bolts comes down above him. From the corner of his eye, he can see Wally rushing to August to intercept the strike coming at him, but he knows. He knows Wally isn't fast enough, watching as the lightning strikes.
He holds back his tears as golden lightning courses through August. With no time left, Barry makes it to Daniel, leaping over him and tanking the lightning strike. He cries out in pain, feeling the way the lightning burns his skin, different from before. His body crashes into the ground, skidding along the dirt, charged with lightning.
He watches through blurry eyes as Daniel lays unharmed, but unconscious. He shifts his gaze to August, a tear rolling down his cheek as he stares at the man. He raises his hand, reaching out to him, but his hand falls as his eyes slowly shut.
----------------------------
NEXT TIME: Family Lost, to Death and to Darkness!
We've been informed that dates for 2017 Bodie workshops may be released February 21 (today)! Contact me through Flickrmail if you'd like to be notified when my workshops are released.
If any of my information is incorrect, notify me and I will change it accordingly.
Service: Gloucestershire Constabulary
Area: Coleford
Make: Mercedes-Benz
Model: Sprinter
Year: 2016
Plate: VX65 EEB
Type: Forest Road Safety Unit and Public Order Van
Force/Organisation: Tri-Force Special Operations Unit
Social links:
Facebook - facebook.com/britishemergency
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Website - britishemergency.com/
(C) Copyright British Emergency 2016.
DO NOT USE OR DOWNLOAD WITHOUT GIVEN PERMISSION.
Arial shots of The Pacific Aria as she arrives @ Kingfisherbay, on the world Heritage Fraser Island,Queensland,Australia. The Pacific Aria is the Largest Vessel to ever sail down the Great Sandy straites to date
"Pacific Aria" Moored at Kingfisher Bay
The Pacific Aria Is the Largest ship TO date to sail Down the Great Sandy Straits , & Moore at Kingfisher bay on the world heritage Fraser island in The stunningly Beautiful waters of the Fraser Coast in Queensland, Australia In the Back Ground you can clearly see KingFisher Bay Resort on the World Heritage Fraser Island which is The Largest Sand Island In the World
www.facebook.com/The-SmOKing-Camera-Hervey-BaY-davefryer-...
The Pacific Aria is a cruise ship of P&O Cruises Australia. Built for the Holland America Line in 1994 as the Ryndam, in November 2015 it was transferred to P&O Cruises Australia and renamed.
History
Pacific Aria is the third Statendam-class ship ordered by the Holland America Line after the company's acquisition by Carnival. The preceding two ships in this class are Statendam (now Pacific Eden) and Maasdam, both of which are still active. The Holland America Line previously had a passenger ship named Ryndam, a 12,340 gross ton ship built by Harland & Wolff, Belfast in 1901 and scrapped in 1929.[2]
Pacific Aria's styling builds upon that of the ships that were active for Holland America at the time of the purchase by Carnival, specifically the layouts of MS Noordam and MS Nieuw Amsterdam. Public rooms such as the Explorers Lounge, Crow's Nest and Lido Restaurant, as well as their placement on the ship, all are transfers from these previous builds.[citation needed]
The ship was transferred to P&O Cruises Australia in 2015 and renamed Pacific Aria
Incidents[edit]
During Ryndam's inaugural season in Alaska, a fire broke out in one of the shop storage lockers on the ship's B Deck just off the "Broadway" corridor during docking operations in Juneau, Alaska, causing minor damage. The fire was quickly contained and cruise operations were unaffected.[citation needed]
In February 2007 Ryndam returned to San Diego from a ten-day tour with 110 passengers sickened from a norovirus outbreak. A CDC report filed later that year listed 40 violations.[3]
On 27 November 2010, an intoxicated passenger released Ryndam's stern anchor while the ship was in international waters en route to Florida. No damage to the ship was reported.[4]
In April 2015 two passengers on board the ship were found dead in their cabin by cruise staff. At approximately 11.30am local time two guests on board MS Ryndam were found deceased in their stateroom in what appears to be a murder-suicide, said the statement from Holland America Line. "The cabin was immediately secured and the authorities, including the FBI, were notified." Police Sgt Ricardo Cruz said blood was found inside the cabin, but the cause of death remains unclear. "We don't know yet whether an object was used or what the motive was," said Cruz. [5]
On 3 July 2015 the Ryndam had to cut short a cruise trip due to a norovirus outbreak. It was on a 14-day cruise which had departed on 20 June for a sail to Iceland and Norway. It underwent a clean and returned to service on 4 July 2015.
P&O Cruises Australia
On 3 October 2015, the Ryndam departed Venice on its farewell voyage with the Holland America Line to Singapore.[6] It was given a make over by SembCorp Marine in Singapore, before being transferred to P&O Australia and renamed the Pacific Aria. It was officially renamed in Sydney by Jessica Mauboy on 25 November 2015.[7][8] It sails under the P&O Australia brand out of Australian ports year round.[9][10]
info wikipedia
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我們可以輕易看到的事物只是所有可能看得到的事物的一小部份而已。但想像力卻穿透表面看到內涵；描繪出肉眼看不到的必要元素。
What we can easily see is only a small percentage of what is possible. Imagination is having the vision to see what is just below the surface; to picture that which is essential, but invisible to the eye.
~ Anonymous
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● Non-HDR-processed / Non-GND-filtered
● Black Card Technique 黑卡作品
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✖ A NOTE TO SOME ADMINS ✖
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Please don't bother to invite me to post and share my works in your group if you insist on asking an invited guest to award or comment, for I consider it impolite and rude and even insulting. I am not being unreasonable and a bad sport; it's always unacceptably unpleasant to be banned from a group or rejected to join a group after HAVING been invited to join a group for being accused of not having followed the group rules, especially when you are invited to share your works.
Let me describe it in a plainer way: I receive an invite to a party, of course, with a present required by the host but not empyt-handed. I am thrilled and honored to be invited and then I pick up the required gift and joyfully head for the party. Yet as I am having my time for I believe that my gift should be enough to please the host, I get thrown out of the party because the host blames me for not helping pass around desserts to the other guests. The most unbearable kind of party would be the one that I have attended many times before with many required presents and did help spread desserts, and still the host kicks me out for failing to help entertain the other guests this time. You know what, when I get kicked out , the host still KEEPS all the gifts I have brought there and just drops me a mail to notify me that I am banned from going to the party ever again. Oh one more thing, as you can easily see, the host is usually so busy that he assigns a little snitch named SWEEPER to tell on those guests who do not follow the host's rules.
When I spontaneously post any images in any groups, I always follow group rules to comment or award, because it is out of my own will to post and I know its my obligation to go by the book. So when asked to be a guest to share my photos, I think I deserve something better than a ban in return.
When Stormtrooper Bruce was notified his "reward" for all his hard work on one of Palpatine's projects was to run the photo booth for next week's big spring event being held in the Death Star Botanical Gardens, he was less than thrilled.
STB: Guys, as you can see, decided to have our Easter feast this weekend since I'm going to be busy all next week through the weekend doing you know what.
TK-1110: We totally understand. No worries. Too bad you won't be able to enter the Bake Off due to conflicting interests.
TK-432: It's all good. At least it's Movie Night and we're together. And the grub looks great! And um, don't look now, but looks like we have company.
JB: Hello Unka Dude! How are you? I sure missed you, did you miss me? Love your Easter Basket. Guess you're already getting cited about next week. I can't wait either! Just think - Photos with the Easter Bunny! ME!! I'm making souvenirs for everyone who takes their picture with me. You get one, too, accause you're goona be SOOOO busy! Oh, and today my name is Jelly Bean.
STB: Hello, JB. You don't mind if I call you JB, do you? Yes, I can hardly wait to take all those thousands of photos. Oh, boy. How exciting. But um... where's Piglet, your Tattle Droid?
JB: Unka Pappy had to zap Piglet. When I got home, I told him what a great job Piglet did protecking me. He was so happy he tried to hug me. And that's when Piglet grabbed Unka Pappy and held him upside down.
STB: Oh, I see. Sounds scary. So what happened?
JB: Well, it wasn't pretty. Unka Pappy was wearing smiley face boxers. When I giggled, he shot lightening out of his fingers and then Piglet kinda sploded. So, Unka Pappy got me this cute bunny rabbit teddy bear to keep me company.
TK-432: Wow! Again, that's WTMIAO! Way too much information at once!
TK-1110: Something tells me there's more to this story. Dude, what are you two talking about? What's a tattle droid?
STB: You know, there's a time and a place for everything, but now is not the time nor the place. Once the idKay leaves, aybeMay. etGay my iftDray?
JB: Well, sorry I can't stay, Unka Dude! Momma said I could only visit long enough to make sure you were getting ready for tomorrow.
STB: Yes, I can hardly wait to take all those thousands of photos. Oh, boy. How exciting. Getting ready.
_________________________________________
Viewing Large is always fun. Just click on the image.
Merkava MK4 M is a Merkava Mark IV equipped with the Trophy active protection system (APS). The Trophy APS successfully intercepted rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank missiles. The system also notifies the tanks crew of the location that the projectile came from, allowing them to fire back quickly. It can transmit the coordinates to nearby ground and air units through the Tzayad battlefield management system. All friendly units in the theater are instantly apprised of the enemy's position, making escape and evasion difficult. It has removable modular armor, from the Merkava Mark IIID, is used on all sides, including the top and a V-shaped belly armor pack for the underside. This modular system is designed to allow for damaged tanks to be rapidly repaired and returned to the field. Because rear armor is thinner, chains with iron balls are attached in order to detonate projectiles before they hit the main armored hull. Some features, such as hull shaping, exterior non-reflective paints (radar cross-section reduction), and shielding for engine heat plumes mixing with air particles (reduced infrared signature) to confuse enemy thermal imagers, were carried over from the IAI Lavi program of the Israeli Air Force to make the tank harder to spot by heat sensors and radar. The Mark IV includes the larger 120 mm main gun of the previous versions, but can fire a wider variety of ammunition, including HEAT and sabot rounds like the APFSDS kinetic energy penetrator, using an electrical semi-automatic revolving magazine for 10 rounds. It also includes a much larger 12.7 mm machine gun for anti-vehicle operations. The Mark IV has the Israeli-designed "TSAWS (Tracks, Springs, and Wheels System)". The model has a new fire-control system, the El-Op Knight Mark 4, An Amcoram LWS-2 laser warning receiver, it also has The tank carries the Israeli Elbit Systems BMS (Battle Management System).
The Natural Landscape Photography Awards just sent around its email notifying participants about which photographs made it to the 3rd round. I was thrilled to find out that I had 7 entries advance this year. Over the 5 years of the contest this number has steadily improved for me from 1 the first two years, to 4 in year three, to 6 last year. I had been managing my expectations this year, because I thought 6 was a bit of an outlier and would be a high number to match. When I got the email I was a bit shocked. I was very surprised. I was pumped the first year when just one of my photos made it, so I really can't believe 7 made it this year.
Looking at the selections, I have noticed two trends. First, I am not very good at forecasting which photos will fare well in the contest. I wrote about this last year and the trend has continued to develop. For three years in a row, the last photo I submitted advanced to the judging round. And in the past two years, the last two photos both made it to the next round. These are photos that were very much on the bubble and I easily could have opted to not submit. By comparison, only once has my number one choice advanced. It goes to show you how these things are very much subjective. I don't even know which of my own photos are "good." (I failed to include this photo here, which was one of the seven that advanced in the contest, in my initial set of top forty 2024 summer photos.) So while it is nice to get some external validation and see my photos score highly, I must remind myself that beauty is very much in the eye of the beholder.
Second, local photographs of familiar subjects did very well this year. Of the seven photos that advanced, three were of lily pads and two were of ferns. Anyone who has spent a minute looking at my photos knows that those are two of my favorite subjects. And five of the seven photos that advanced were made within a half hour of my home at spots that I visit regularly. So while it's a small sample size, it appears that practice and repetition paid off last year.
If any of my information is incorrect, notify me and I will change it accordingly.
Service: City of London Police
Area: London
Make: Volkswagen
Model: Crafter
Year: 2014
Plate: LJ14 SXG
Type: Public Order Van
Force/Organisation: City of London Police
Social links:
Facebook - facebook.com/britishemergency
YouTube - youtube.com/britishemergency
Website - britishemergency.com/
(C) Copyright British Emergency 2015.
DO NOT USE OR DOWNLOAD WITHOUT GIVEN PERMISSION.
My hiking buddy (Chris) and fellow photographer notified me of an old bus he found years ago in the wilderness area outside our city. Once he showed me a picture of it, late last year, I knew I had to have a couple of shots for myself. It's pretty, yes,, pretty ugly and a great subject for us. It reminded me so much of the movie, “Into the wild”, I had to do a movie inspired portrait. (Gotta have fun with it all..)
For those of you who aren't fighter pilots, here's a handy glossary for your reference:
Affirmative: Yes; also "Affirm","Firm" or "Roger"
Bugout: Let’s separate out of here; usually given with a direction - "Bugout {North, South, East, West".
Angels: Altitude expressed in thousands of feet. For example, "Angels 30" means an altitude of 30,000 feet.
No Joy: I don’t see the target.
Chicks: Friendly fighters.
Jumping In: A call to notify other simulator pilots that you are entering the mission.
Furball: A turning air combat engagement.
Winchester: Out of weapons.
Bingo: Running low on fuel. A plane with Bingo fuel has enough to get back to base safely, but not much more.
So I was notified yesterday that I have a biggest fan! makes me feel good to know that someone actually took the time to wanna draw mr cyclops :D
A link to my biggest fan below :D
If any of my information is incorrect, notify me and I will change it accordingly.
Service: Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service
Area: Gloucester
Make: Scania
Model: P320
Year: 2013
Plate: WX13 AYG
Type: Emergency Rescue Tender
Force/Organisation: Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service
Social links:
Facebook - facebook.com/britishemergency
YouTube - youtube.com/britishemergency
Website - britishemergency.com/
(C) Copyright British Emergency 2016.
DO NOT USE OR DOWNLOAD WITHOUT GIVEN PERMISSION.
Garasia people.
Garasia, an interesting ethnic group inhabiting the Aravali foothills of remote Sabarkatha district in Gujarat has a curious history. Though a depressed class and classified as a de-notified tribe, the Garasias resembles closely with the advanced Rajput clans in many ways. Due to these, the British administration had even categorized the Garasias as a branch of Rajputs who were petty land holders. Even today amidst poverty and deep isolation I was surprised to see Garasias not only as prime agriculturalists but also holders of large chunk of lands in the remote slopes of Aravali Mountains. Their houses are widely dispersed each surround by a large farmstead.
Yet the Garasias are poor and deprived of basic services like, health, education and safe drinking water. Farming is mostly rain fed. According to historical records, in colonial India as land became scarce both through colonial expansion and slash-and-burn agriculture Garasias became further marginalized and associated themselves with Bhils, a more primitive tribal group. The nationalist movement created further division between groups as the Rajput identity was grounded in traditional customs and their heritage as rulers.
Garasias of Sabarkatha form two distinct groups – the Garasia Rajputs and the Garasia Bhils.
The Garasia Rajputs: In the medieval time the Rajputs from Rajasthan and surrounding plains of Gujarat had appropriated Bhil territories and in part to strengthen their rule and maintain peace, some of them married to Bhil women.
Their offspring formed a distinct caste – the Garasia Rajputs. They served as delegates between the ruling Rajputs and Bhils. The Garasia Rajputs are a lower status caste than the Rajputs but consider themselves higher to Bhils with whom
they do not inter marry. Garasia Rajputs see themselves as tribalized Rajputs and they believe that that their Rajput ancestors moved to remote forest to avoid subjugation by a conquering group.
The Garasia Bhils: The Garasia Bhils are those who married to Bhil women and were not accepted into Garasia society because of the lower status of the Bhils. The Bhil Garasias are also called Dungri Garasias.
The Garasias live mostly in huts consisting of two/three rooms with mud wall partitions. The roofs are built of flat tiled roofs. There is a smaller hut attached to the main one meant for cattle. However, for the other animals like goats and hens there are open air facilities. The Garasia women are known for their colourful attires and silver jewellery. Dhols (drums) and bow-arrows are also part of the material culture of the Garasias.
The huts belonging to various families are widely dispersed and there is no central place where people can meet together. I visited a few houses in the village and while interacting with the inhabitants I discovered the gender divisions - women’s responsibility include cooking, tending to cattle, milking the animals and looking after the children. The men do the physical labour such as ploughing, harvesting and building the houses. There is a strong prevalence of joint family system though there is very little unity or cooperation between the village clans.
Trust your instincts.
Notify family members or close friends.
Carry a cell phone on you at all times
Make it very clear to the stalker that you are not interested.
Don't try to reason with them.
Save everything the stalker sends you and record when and where you found it.
Keep a journal to document all contacts and incidents, along with the time, date and other relevant information.
Keep your records in a safe place and make a copy to leave in another location.
Treat any and all threats as serious, and report them to the police, every time, even if the police don't seem very interested.
Vary your travel times and routes.
And I'm scared of being the only shadow I see along a wall
And I'm scared of the only heart beat I hear beating is my own.
Scared of Lonely by: Beyonce.
It's soooo hot in my houseee. !@#$%^&*()
It was so grosss...there were pervs everywhere!
I'm starting to edit my pictures a little differently? Idk, I kind
of like it. :)
Ohohohohoh, I found out I've actually had several pictures
in explore? :DD I wish flickr notified you...
After ditching sunday service 18A, EYMS notified local councils that from early May they were going to withdraw service 18 as well meaning there would be no service to York from Bubwith, North Duffield, Thorganby etc, but Holme on Spalding Moor would be served by some 46 services being re-routed. An interim timetable is being used for the time being with EYMS still running the 18 but with just a single vehicle - the first journey of the day coming from the depot starts at Holme whilst the last journey of the day leaving York goes all the way to Holme as the bus then goes back to the depot, but all services in between terminate short at either Bubwith, North Duffield, or Wheldrake and East Riding council then uses one of their fleet to fill in the gap.... A longer term solution is expected soon though, and I wouldn't be surprised if the result is that both services going through Wheldrake are then run by the same company.
Waiting at York Piccadilly is Volvo B9TL Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 YX09 GWL which now wears the 'we got a good deal on cream paint' livery and has the final re-routed 46A of the day which runs to Pocklington then to Holme on Spalding Moor as a supplement to the 18 service - the last journeys to HOSM on both the 18 and 46A depart York within just a few minutes of each other.
Thank you for your support. 1,074organizations and 53,193people signed the Petition from over 61 countries
The International Commission on Radiological Protection recommends that all radiation exposure be kept as low as achievable, and for the public, on top of background radiation and any medical procedures, should not exceed 1 mSv per year.
For nuclear industry workers, they recommend a maximum permissible annual dose of 20 mSv averaged over five years, with no more than 50 mSv in any one year.
However, on April 19th, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) notified the Board of Education and related institutions in Fukushima Prefecture to raise annual radiation exposure limit from 1mSv to 20 mSv. This is way to high for the children.
20 mSv per year is comparable to the legally recognized dose for inducing leukemia in nuclear power plant workers. It is also comparable to the maximum dose allowed for nuclear power plant workers in Germany.
If the government allows 20 mSv per year for the children, we will see many children suffer from thyroid cancer in five years like what happened on the children in Chernobyl.
20 politicians in Japan signed the petion against the inhumane decision by the ministry of education raising the limit of annual radiation exposure to the children in Japan from 1 mSv to 20 mSv.
Tomoko Abe (Member of the House of Representatives, Social Democratic Party 4th term)
Yoshifu Arita (Member of the House of Councilors, Democratic Party of Japan)
Mitsuji Ishida (Member of the House of Representatives, Democratic Party of Japan 1st term)
Tetsuo Inami (Member of the House of Representatives, Democratic Party of Japan 2nd term)
Azuma Konno (Member of the house of Councilors, Democratic Party of Japan)
Kusuo Oshima (Member of the house of Councilors, Democratic Party of Japan)
Ryuhei Kawada (Member of the house of Councilors, Democratic Party of Japan)
Ryoichi Hattori (Member of the House of Representatives, Social Democratic Party 1st term)
Makoto Hirayama (Member of the House of Councilors, Democratic Party of Japan)
Mizuho Fukushima (Member of the House of Councilors, Social Democratic Party 3rd term)
Hiroyuki Moriyama (Member of the House of Representatives, Democratic Party 1st term)
Makoto Yamazaki (Member of the House of Representatives, Democratic Party 1st term)
Tadatomo Yoshisa (Member of the House of Representatives, Social Democratic Party 1st term)
Akihiro Hatsushika (Member of the House of Representatives, Democratic Party 1st term)
Mari Kushibuchi (Member of the House of Representatives, Democratic Party 1st term)
Masako Ohkawara (Member of the House of Representatives, Democratic Party 1st term)
Yumiko Himai (Member of the House of Councilors, Democratic Party of Japan 1st term)
Hiroshi Hase (Member of the House of Representatives, Liberal Democratic Party 4th term)
Yukiko Miyake (Member of the House of Representatives, Democratic Party 1st term)
Yuko Mori (Member of the House of Councilors, Democratic Party of Japan 2nd term)
Special Advisor to the Cabinet, Kosako Toshiso resigned. He said that it's not acceptable for raising annual radiation limit for the children 1mSv to 20 mSv. He also criticized that the crisis management of the government is disorganized and haphazard.
1,074 organizations and 53,193 people signed
the Petition from over 61 countries
This petition was being organized by: Green Action, Greenpeace Japan, Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center, Citizens Against Fukushima Aging Nuclear Power Plants (Fukuro-no-Kai), Osaka Citizens Against the Mihama, Oi, and Takahama Nuclear Power Plants (Mihama-no-Kai), Friends of the Earth Japan
Thank you for your support and friendship.
My mothing friend Steve trapped this first for Wiltshire in his garden trap on Wednesday night! Both a vagrant and adventive species in the UK this individual is most likely a vagrant as that night there was a supporting cast of rare and scarce migrants in the southern counties - although a wanderer from the small populations in West London or Berkshire isn't entirely out of the question. The relevant authorities have been notified as required. Highworth, Wiltshire, UK. 2016-08-17.
The raccoon (/rəˈkuːn/ or US: /ræˈkuːn/ ⓘ, Procyon lotor), also spelled racoon[3] and sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from the other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of 40 to 70 cm (16 to 28 in), and a body weight of 5 to 26 kg (11 to 57 lb). Its grayish coat mostly consists of dense underfur, which insulates it against cold weather. Three of the raccoon's most distinctive features are its extremely dexterous front paws, its facial mask, and its ringed tail, which are themes in the mythologies of the indigenous peoples of the Americas relating to the animal. The raccoon is noted for its intelligence, as studies show that it is able to remember the solution to tasks for at least three years. It is usually nocturnal and omnivorous, eating about 40% invertebrates, 33% plants, and 27% vertebrates.
The original habitats of the raccoon are deciduous and mixed forests, but due to their adaptability, they have extended their range to mountainous areas, coastal marshes, and urban areas, where some homeowners consider them to be pests. As a result of escapes and deliberate introductions in the mid-20th century, raccoons are now also distributed across central Europe, the Caucasus, and Japan.
In Europe, the raccoon is included since 2016 in the list of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern (the Union list).[4] This implies that this species cannot be imported, bred, transported, commercialized, or intentionally released into the environment in the whole of the European Union.[5]
Though previously thought to be generally solitary, there is now evidence that raccoons engage in sex-specific social behavior. Related females often share a common area, while unrelated males live together in groups of up to four raccoons in order to maintain their positions against foreign males during the mating season and against other potential invaders. Home range sizes vary anywhere from 3 ha (7.4 acres) for females in cities, to 5,000 ha (12,000 acres) for males in prairies. After a gestation period of about 65 days, two to five young known as "kits" are born in spring. The kits are subsequently raised by their mother until dispersal in late fall. Although captive raccoons have been known to live over 20 years, their life expectancy in the wild is only 1.8 to 3.1 years. In many areas, hunting and vehicular injury are the two most common causes of death.
Etymology
The mask of a raccoon is often interrupted by a brown-black streak that extends from forehead to nose.[6]
Names for the species include the common raccoon,[7] North American raccoon,[8] and northern raccoon.[9] In various North American native languages, the reference to the animal's manual dexterity, or use of its hands is the source for the names.[10] The word raccoon was adopted into English from the native Powhatan term meaning 'animal that scratches with its hands', as used in the Colony of Virginia. It was recorded on John Smith's list of Powhatan words as aroughcun, and on that of William Strachey as arathkone.[11] It has also been identified as a reflex of a Proto-Algonquian root *ahrah-koon-em, meaning '[the] one who rubs, scrubs and scratches with its hands'.[12] The word is sometimes spelled as racoon.[13]
In Spanish, the raccoon is called mapache, derived from the Nahuatl mapachtli of the Aztecs, meaning '[the] one who takes everything in its hands'.[14]
Its Latin name literally means 'before-dog washer'.[15] The genus Procyon was named by Gottlieb Conrad Christian Storr.[10] The animal's observed habit of "washing" or "dowsing" (see below) is the source of its name in other languages.[16][17] For example, the French "raton laveur" means "washing rat".
The colloquial abbreviation coon is used in words like coonskin for fur clothing and in phrases like old coon as a self-designation of trappers.[18][19] In the 1830s, the United States Whig Party used the raccoon as an emblem, causing them to be pejoratively known as "coons" by their political opponents, who saw them as too sympathetic to African-Americans. Soon after that the term became an ethnic slur,[20] especially in use between 1880 and 1920 (see coon song), and the term is still considered offensive.[21] Dogs bred to hunt raccoons are called coonhound and coon dog.[22]
Taxonomy
Skins of P. lotor and P. cancrivorus
Skulls of P. lotor and P. cancrivorus
In the first decades after its discovery by the members of the expedition of Christopher Columbus, who were the first Europeans to leave a written record about the species, taxonomists thought the raccoon was related to many different species, including dogs, cats, badgers and particularly bears.[23] Carl Linnaeus, the father of modern taxonomy, placed the raccoon in the genus Ursus, first as Ursus cauda elongata ('long-tailed bear') in the second edition of his Systema Naturae (1740), then as Ursus Lotor ('washer bear') in the tenth edition (1758–59).[24][25] In 1780, Gottlieb Conrad Christian Storr placed the raccoon in its own genus Procyon, which can be translated as either 'before the dog' or 'doglike'.[26][27] It is also possible that Storr had its nocturnal lifestyle in mind and chose the star Procyon as eponym for the species.[28][29]
Evolution
Based on fossil evidence from Russia and Bulgaria, the first known members of the family Procyonidae lived in Europe in the late Oligocene about 25 million years ago.[30] Similar tooth and skull structures suggest procyonids and weasels share a common ancestor, but molecular analysis indicates a closer relationship between raccoons and bears.[31] After the then-existing species crossed the Bering Strait at least six million years later in the early Miocene, the center of its distribution was probably in Central America.[32] Coatis (Nasua and Nasuella) and raccoons (Procyon) have been considered to share common descent from a species in the genus Paranasua present between 5.2 and 6.0 million years ago.[33] This assumption, based on morphological comparisons of fossils, conflicts with a 2006 genetic analysis which indicates raccoons are more closely related to ringtails.[34] Unlike other procyonids, such as the crab-eating raccoon (Procyon cancrivorus), the ancestors of the common raccoon left tropical and subtropical areas and migrated farther north about 2.5 million years ago, in a migration that has been confirmed by the discovery of fossils in the Great Plains dating back to the middle of the Pliocene.[35][33] Its most recent ancestor was likely Procyon rexroadensis, a large Blancan raccoon from the Rexroad Formation characterized by its narrow back teeth and large lower jaw.[36]
Subspecies
A Torch Key raccoon (P. l. incautus) in Cudjoe Key, Florida. Subspecies inhabiting the Florida Keys are characterized by their small size and very pale fur.
Female raccoon of the Vancouver Island subspecies at Sidney, British Columbia, with characteristic dark fur
As of 2005, Mammal Species of the World recognizes 22 subspecies of raccoons.[37] Four of these subspecies living only on small Central American and Caribbean islands were often regarded as distinct species after their discovery. These are the Bahamian raccoon and Guadeloupe raccoon, which are very similar to each other; the Tres Marias raccoon, which is larger than average and has an angular skull; and the extinct Barbados raccoon. Studies of their morphological and genetic traits in 1999, 2003 and 2005 led all these island raccoons to be listed as subspecies of the common raccoon in Mammal Species of the World's third edition. A fifth island raccoon population, the Cozumel raccoon, which weighs only 3 to 4 kg (6.6 to 8.8 lb) and has notably small teeth, is still regarded as a separate species.[38][39][40][41]
The four smallest raccoon subspecies, with a typical weight of 1.8 to 2.7 kg (4.0 to 6.0 lb), live along the southern coast of Florida and on the adjacent islands; an example is the Ten Thousand Islands raccoon (Procyon lotor marinus).[42] Most of the other 15 subspecies differ only slightly from each other in coat color, size and other physical characteristics.[43][44] The two most widespread subspecies are the eastern raccoon (Procyon lotor lotor) and the Upper Mississippi Valley raccoon (Procyon lotor hirtus). Both share a comparatively dark coat with long hairs, but the Upper Mississippi Valley raccoon is larger than the eastern raccoon. The eastern raccoon occurs in all U.S. states and Canadian provinces to the north of South Carolina and Tennessee. The adjacent range of the Upper Mississippi Valley raccoon covers all U.S. states and Canadian provinces to the north of Louisiana, Texas and New Mexico.[45]
The taxonomic identity of feral raccoons inhabiting Central Europe, Causasia and Japan is unknown, as the founding populations consisted of uncategorized specimens from zoos and fur farms.
Description
Physical characteristics
Lower side of front paw with visible vibrissae on the tips of the digits
Skeleton
Skull with dentition: 2/2 molars, 4/4 premolars, 1/1 canines, 3/3 incisors
Baculum or penis bone
Female genitourinary system
Male genitourinary system
Head to hindquarters, raccoons measure between 40 and 70 cm (16 and 28 in), not including the bushy tail which can measure between 20 and 40 cm (7.9 and 15.7 in), but is usually not much longer than 25 cm (9.8 in).[71][72][73] The shoulder height is between 23 and 30 cm (9.1 and 11.8 in).[74] The body weight of an adult raccoon varies considerably with habitat, making the raccoon one of the most variably sized mammals. It can range from 2 to 26 kg (4.4 to 57.3 lb), but is usually between 5 and 12 kg (11 and 26 lb). The smallest specimens live in southern Florida, while those near the northern limits of the raccoon's range tend to be the largest (see Bergmann's rule).[75] Males are usually 15 to 20% heavier than females.[76] At the beginning of winter, a raccoon can weigh twice as much as in spring because of fat storage.[77][78][79] The largest recorded wild raccoon weighed 28.4 kg (63 lb) and measured 140 cm (55 in) in total length, by far the largest size recorded for a procyonid.[80][81]
The most characteristic physical feature of the raccoon is the area of black fur around the eyes, which contrasts sharply with the surrounding white face coloring. This is reminiscent of a "bandit's mask" and has thus enhanced the animal's reputation for mischief.[82][83] The slightly rounded ears are also bordered by white fur. Raccoons are assumed to recognize the facial expression and posture of other members of their species more quickly because of the conspicuous facial coloration and the alternating light and dark rings on the tail.[84][85][86] The dark mask may also reduce glare and thus enhance night vision.[85][86] On other parts of the body, the long and stiff guard hairs, which shed moisture, are usually colored in shades of gray and, to a lesser extent, brown.[87] Raccoons with a very dark coat are more common in the German population because individuals with such coloring were among those initially released to the wild.[88] The dense underfur, which accounts for almost 90% of the coat, insulates against cold weather and is composed of 2 to 3 cm (0.79 to 1.18 in) long hairs.[87]
The raccoon, whose method of locomotion is usually considered to be plantigrade, can stand on its hind legs to examine objects with its front paws.[89][90] As raccoons have short legs compared to their compact torso, they are usually not able either to run quickly or jump great distances.[91][92] Their top speed over short distances is 16 to 24 km/h (9.9 to 14.9 mph).[93][94] Raccoons can swim with an average speed of about 5 km/h (3.1 mph) and can stay in the water for several hours.[95][92] For climbing down a tree headfirst—an unusual ability for a mammal of its size—a raccoon rotates its hind feet so they are pointing backwards.[96][92] Raccoons have a dual cooling system to regulate their temperature; that is, they are able to both sweat and pant for heat dissipation.[97][98]
Raccoon skulls have a short and wide facial region and a voluminous braincase. The facial length of the skull is less than the cranial, and their nasal bones are short and quite broad. The auditory bullae are inflated in form, and the sagittal crest is weakly developed.[99] The dentition—40 teeth with the dental formula:
3.1.4.2
3.1.4.2
—is adapted to their omnivorous diet: the carnassials are not as sharp and pointed as those of a full-time carnivore, but the molars are not as wide as those of a herbivore.[100] The penis bone of males is about 10 cm (3.9 in) long and strongly bent at the front end,[101][102] and its shape can be used to distinguish juvenile males from mature males.[103][104][105] Seven of the thirteen identified vocal calls are used in communication between the mother and her kits, one of these being the birdlike twittering of newborns.[106][107][98]
Senses
The most important sense for the raccoon is its sense of touch.[108][109][110] The "hyper sensitive"[109] front paws are protected by a thin horny layer that becomes pliable when wet.[111][112] The five digits of the paws have no webbing between them, which is unusual for a carnivoran.[113] Almost two-thirds of the area responsible for sensory perception in the raccoon's cerebral cortex is specialized for the interpretation of tactile impulses, more than in any other studied animal.[114] They are able to identify objects before touching them with vibrissae located above their sharp, nonretractable claws.[89][110] The raccoon's paws lack an opposable thumb; thus, it does not have the agility of the hands of primates.[110][112] There is no observed negative effect on tactile perception when a raccoon stands in water below 10 °C (50 °F) for hours.[115]
Raccoons are thought to be color blind or at least poorly able to distinguish color, though their eyes are well-adapted for sensing green light.[116][117][118] Although their accommodation of 11 dioptre is comparable to that of humans and they see well in twilight because of the tapetum lucidum behind the retina, visual perception is of subordinate importance to raccoons because of their poor long-distance vision.[119][120][121] In addition to being useful for orientation in the dark, their sense of smell is important for intraspecific communication. Glandular secretions (usually from their anal glands), urine and feces are used for marking.[122][123][124] With their broad auditory range, they can perceive tones up to 50–85 kHz as well as quiet noises, like those produced by earthworms underground.[125][126]
Intelligence
Zoologist Clinton Hart Merriam described raccoons as "clever beasts", and that "in certain directions their cunning surpasses that of the fox". The animal's intelligence gave rise to the epithet "sly coon".[127] Only a few studies have been undertaken to determine the mental abilities of raccoons, most of them based on the animal's sense of touch. In a study by the ethologist H. B. Davis in 1908, raccoons were able to open 11 of 13 complex locks in fewer than 10 tries and had no problems repeating the action when the locks were rearranged or turned upside down. Davis concluded that they understood the abstract principles of the locking mechanisms and their learning speed was equivalent to that of rhesus macaques.[128]
Studies in 1963, 1973, 1975 and 1992 concentrated on raccoon memory showed that they can remember the solutions to tasks for at least three years.[129] In a study by B. Pohl in 1992, raccoons were able to instantly differentiate between identical and different symbols three years after the short initial learning phase.[129] Stanislas Dehaene reports in his book The Number Sense that raccoons can distinguish boxes containing two or four grapes from those containing three.[130] In research by Suzana Herculano-Houzel and other neuroscientists, raccoons have been found to be comparable to primates in density of neurons in the cerebral cortex, which they have proposed to be a neuroanatomical indicator of intelligence.[131][132]
Behavior
Social behavior
Eastern raccoons (P. l. lotor) in a tree: The raccoon's social structure is grouped into what Ulf Hohmann calls a "three-class society".
California raccoon (P. l. psora) climbing a tree in Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge
Baby raccoon chatter
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Studies in the 1990s by the ethologists Stanley D. Gehrt and Ulf Hohmann suggest that raccoons engage in sex-specific social behaviors and are not typically solitary, as was previously thought.[133][134] Related females often live in a so-called "fission-fusion society"; that is, they share a common area and occasionally meet at feeding or resting grounds.[135][136] Unrelated males often form loose male social groups to maintain their position against foreign males during the mating season—or against other potential invaders.[137] Such a group does not usually consist of more than four individuals.[138][139] Since some males show aggressive behavior towards unrelated kits, mothers will isolate themselves from other raccoons until their kits are big enough to defend themselves.[140]
With respect to these three different modes of life prevalent among raccoons, Hohmann called their social structure a "three-class society".[141] Samuel I. Zeveloff, professor of zoology at Weber State University and author of the book Raccoons: A Natural History, is more cautious in his interpretation and concludes at least the females are solitary most of the time and, according to Erik K. Fritzell's study in North Dakota in 1978, males in areas with low population densities are solitary as well.[142]
The shape and size of a raccoon's home range varies depending on age, sex, and habitat, with adults claiming areas more than twice as large as juveniles.[143] While the size of home ranges in the habitat of North Dakota's prairies lie between 7 and 50 km2 (3 and 20 sq mi) for males and between 2 and 16 km2 (1 and 6 sq mi) for females, the average size in a marsh at Lake Erie was 0.5 km2 (0.19 sq mi).[144] Irrespective of whether the home ranges of adjacent groups overlap, they are most likely not actively defended outside the mating season if food supplies are sufficient.[145] Odor marks on prominent spots are assumed to establish home ranges and identify individuals.[124] Urine and feces left at shared raccoon latrines may provide additional information about feeding grounds, since raccoons were observed to meet there later for collective eating, sleeping and playing.[146]
Concerning the general behavior patterns of raccoons, Gehrt points out that "typically you'll find 10 to 15 percent that will do the opposite" of what is expected.[147]
Diet
Though usually nocturnal, the raccoon is sometimes active in daylight to take advantage of available food sources.[148][149] Its diet consists of about 40% invertebrates, 33% plant material and 27% vertebrates.[150] Since its diet consists of such a variety of different foods, Zeveloff argues the raccoon "may well be one of the world's most omnivorous animals".[151] While its diet in spring and early summer consists mostly of insects, worms, and other animals already available early in the year, it prefers fruits and nuts, such as acorns and walnuts, which emerge in late summer and autumn, and represent a rich calorie source for building up fat needed for winter.[152][153]
Contrary to popular belief, raccoons only occasionally eat active or large prey, such as birds and mammals. They prefer prey that is easier to catch, specifically crayfish, insects,[154] fish, amphibians and bird eggs.[155] Raccoons are virulent predators of eggs and hatchlings in both birds and reptile nests, to such a degree that, for threatened prey species, raccoons may need to be removed from the area or nests may need to be relocated to mitigate the effect of their predations (i.e. in the case of some globally threatened turtles).[156][157][158][159][160] When food is plentiful, raccoons can develop strong individual preferences for specific foods.[78] In the northern parts of their range, raccoons go into a winter rest, reducing their activity drastically as long as a permanent snow cover makes searching for food difficult.[161]
Dousing
Captive raccoons often douse their food before eating.
One aspect of raccoon behavior is so well known that it gives the animal part of its scientific name, Procyon lotor; lotor is Latin for 'washer'. In the wild, raccoons often dabble for underwater food near the shore-line. They then often pick up the food item with their front paws to examine it and rub the item, sometimes to remove unwanted parts. This gives the appearance of the raccoon "washing" the food. The tactile sensitivity of raccoons' paws is increased if this rubbing action is performed underwater, since the water softens the hard layer covering the paws.[109][162] However, the behavior observed in captive raccoons in which they carry their food to water to "wash" or douse it before eating has not been observed in the wild.[163][164] Naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, believed that raccoons do not have adequate saliva production to moisten food thereby necessitating dousing, but this hypothesis is now considered to be incorrect.[162][163][165][166] Captive raccoons douse their food more frequently when a watering hole with a layout similar to a stream is not farther away than 3 m (10 ft).[166] The widely accepted theory is that dousing in captive raccoons is a fixed action pattern from the dabbling behavior performed when foraging at shores for aquatic foods.[162][166][167][168] This is supported by the observation that aquatic foods are doused more frequently. Cleaning dirty food does not seem to be a reason for "washing".[166]
Reproduction
Raccoons usually mate in a period triggered by increasing daylight between late January and mid-March.[169][170][171] However, there are large regional differences which are not completely explicable by solar conditions. For example, while raccoons in southern states typically mate later than average, the mating season in Manitoba also peaks later than usual in March and extends until June.[171] During the mating season, males restlessly roam their home ranges in search of females in an attempt to court them during the three- to four-day period when conception is possible. These encounters will often occur at central meeting places.[172][173][174] Copulation, including foreplay, can last over an hour and is repeated over several nights.[175] The weaker members of a male social group also are assumed to get the opportunity to mate, since the stronger ones cannot mate with all available females.[176] In a study in southern Texas during the mating seasons from 1990 to 1992, about one third of all females mated with more than one male.[177] If a female does not become pregnant or if she loses her kits early, she will sometimes become fertile again 80 to 140 days later.[178][179][180]
An eastern raccoon (P. l. lotor) kit
After usually 63 to 65 days of gestation (although anywhere from 54 to 70 days is possible), a litter of typically two to five young is born.[181][182] The average litter size varies widely with habitat, ranging from 2.5 in Alabama to 4.8 in North Dakota.[183][184] Larger litters are more common in areas with a high mortality rate, due, for example, to hunting or severe winters.[185][184] While male yearlings usually reach their sexual maturity only after the main mating season, female yearlings can compensate for high mortality rates and may be responsible for about 50% of all young born in a year.[186][187][188] Males have no part in raising young.[138][189][190] The kits (also called "cubs") are blind and deaf at birth, but their mask is already visible against their light fur.[191][192] The birth weight of the about 10 cm (4 in)-long kits is between 60 and 75 g (2.1 and 2.6 oz).[192] Their ear canals open after around 18 to 23 days, a few days before their eyes open for the first time.[193] Once the kits weigh about 1 kg (2 lb), they begin to explore outside the den, consuming solid food for the first time after six to nine weeks.[194][195] After this point, their mother suckles them with decreasing frequency; they are usually weaned by 16 weeks.[196] In the fall, after their mother has shown them dens and feeding grounds, the juvenile group splits up.[197] [198] While many females will stay close to the home range of their mother, males can sometimes move more than 20 km (12 mi) away. This is considered an instinctive behavior, preventing inbreeding. However, mother and offspring may share a den during the first winter in cold areas.
Life expectancy
Captive raccoons have been known to live for more than 20 years. However, the species' life expectancy in the wild is only 1.8 to 3.1 years, depending on the local conditions such as traffic volume, hunting, and weather severity. It is not unusual for only half of the young born in one year to survive a full year. After this point, the annual mortality rate drops to between 10% and 30%. Young raccoons are vulnerable to losing their mother and to starvation, particularly in long and cold winters. The most frequent natural cause of death in the North American raccoon population is distemper, which can reach epidemic proportions and kill most of a local raccoon population. In areas with heavy vehicular traffic and extensive hunting, these factors can account for up to 90% of all deaths of adult raccoons. The most important natural predators of the raccoon are bobcats, coyotes, and great horned owls, the latter mainly preying on young raccoons but capable of killing adults in some cases. In Florida, they have been reported to fall victim to larger carnivores like American black bear and cougars and these species may also be a threat on occasion in other areas. Where still present, gray wolves may still occasionally take raccoons as a supplemental prey item. Also in the southeast, they are among the favored prey for adult American alligators. On occasion, both bald and golden eagles will prey on raccoons. In the tropics, raccoons are known to fall prey to smaller eagles such as ornate hawk-eagles and black hawk-eagles, although it is not clear whether adults or merely juvenile raccoons are taken by these. In rare cases of overlap, they may fall victim from carnivores ranging from species averaging smaller than themselves such as fishers to those as large and formidable as jaguars in Mexico. In their introduced range in the former Soviet Union, their main predators are wolves, lynxes and Eurasian eagle-owls. However, predation is not a significant cause of death, especially because larger predators have been exterminated in many areas inhabited by raccoons.
Range
Although they have thrived in sparsely wooded areas in the last decades, raccoons depend on vertical structures to climb when they feel threatened. Therefore, they avoid open terrain and areas with high concentrations of beech trees, as beech bark is too smooth to climb. Tree hollows in old oaks or other trees and rock crevices are preferred by raccoons as sleeping, winter and litter dens. If such dens are unavailable or accessing them is inconvenient, raccoons use burrows dug by other mammals, dense undergrowth or tree crotches. In a study in the Solling range of hills in Germany, more than 60% of all sleeping places were used only once, but those used at least ten times accounted for about 70% of all uses. Since amphibians, crustaceans, and other animals around the shore of lakes and rivers are an important part of the raccoon's diet, lowland deciduous or mixed forests abundant with water and marshes sustain the highest population densities. While population densities range from 0.5 to 3.2 animals per square kilometer (1.3 to 8.3 animals per square mile) in prairies and do not usually exceed 6 animals per square kilometer (15.5 animals per square mile) in upland hardwood forests, more than 20 raccoons per square kilometer (51.8 animals per square mile) can live in lowland forests and marshes.
Distribution in North America
Raccoons are common throughout North America from Canada to Panama, where the subspecies Procyon lotor pumilus coexists with the crab-eating raccoon (Procyon cancrivorus). The population on Hispaniola was exterminated as early as 1513 by Spanish colonists who hunted them for their meat. Raccoons were also exterminated in Cuba and Jamaica, where the last sightings were reported in 1687. The Barbados raccoon became extinct relatively recently, in 1964. When they were still considered separate species, the Bahamas raccoon, Guadeloupe raccoon and Tres Marias raccoon were classified as endangered by the IUCN in 1996.
A Raccoon sleeping on a tree in High Park, Toronto
There is archeological evidence that in pre-Columbian times raccoons were numerous only along rivers and in the woodlands of the Southeastern United States. As raccoons were not mentioned in earlier reports of pioneers exploring the central and north-central parts of the United States, their initial spread may have begun a few decades before the 20th century. Since the 1950s, raccoons have expanded their range from Vancouver Island—formerly the northernmost limit of their range—far into the northern portions of the four south-central Canadian provinces. New habitats which have recently been occupied by raccoons (aside from urban areas) include mountain ranges, such as the Western Rocky Mountains, prairies and coastal marshes. After a population explosion starting in the 1940s, the estimated number of raccoons in North America in the late 1980s was 15 to 20 times higher than in the 1930s, when raccoons were comparatively rare. Urbanization, the expansion of agriculture, deliberate introductions, and the extermination of natural predators of the raccoon have probably caused this increase in abundance and distribution.
Distribution outside North America
s a result of escapes and deliberate introductions in the mid-20th century, the raccoon is now distributed in several European and Asian countries. Sightings have occurred in all the countries bordering Germany, which hosts the largest population outside of North America. Another stable population exists in northern France, where several pet raccoons were released by members of the U.S. Air Force near the Laon-Couvron Air Base in 1966. Furthermore, raccoons have been known to be in the area around Madrid since the early 1970s. In 2013, the city authorized "the capture and death of any specimen". It is also present in Italy, with one self-sustaining population in Lombardy.
About 1,240 animals were released in nine regions of the former Soviet Union between 1936 and 1958 for the purpose of establishing a population to be hunted for their fur. Two of these introductions were successful – one in the south of Belarus between 1954 and 1958, and another in Azerbaijan between 1941 and 1957. With a seasonal harvest of between 1,000~1,500 animals, in 1974 the estimated size of the population distributed in the Caucasus region was around 20,000 animals and the density was four animals per square kilometer (10 animals per square mile).
Distribution in Japan
In Japan, up to 1,500 raccoons were imported as pets each year after the success of the anime series Rascal the Raccoon (1977). In 2004, the descendants of discarded or escaped animals lived in 42 of 47 prefectures. The range of raccoons in the wild in Japan grew from 17 prefectures in 2000 to all 47 prefectures in 2008. It is estimated that raccoons cause thirty million yen (~$275,000) of agricultural damage on Hokkaido alone.
Distribution in Germany
In Germany – where the raccoon is called the Waschbär (literally, 'wash-bear' or 'washing bear') due to its habit of "dousing" food in water – two pairs of pet raccoons were released into the German countryside at the Edersee reservoir in the north of Hesse in April 1934 by a forester upon request of their owner, a poultry farmer. He released them two weeks before receiving permission from the Prussian hunting office to "enrich the fauna". Several prior attempts to introduce raccoons in Germany had been unsuccessful. A second population was established in eastern Germany in 1945 when 25 raccoons escaped from a fur farm at Wolfshagen (today district of Altlandsberg), east of Berlin, after an air strike. The two populations are parasitologically distinguishable: 70% of the raccoons of the Hessian population are infected with the roundworm Baylisascaris procyonis, but none of the Brandenburgian population is known to have the parasite. In the Hessian region, there were an estimated 285 raccoons in 1956, which increased to over 20,000 in 1970; in 2008 there were between 200,000 and 400,000 raccoons in the whole of Germany. By 2012 it was estimated that Germany now had more than a million raccoons.
The raccoon was once a protected species in Germany, but has been declared a game animal in 14 of the 16 German states since 1954. Hunters and environmentalists argue the raccoon spreads uncontrollably, threatens protected bird species, and supersedes indigenous competitors. This view is opposed by the zoologist Frank-Uwe Michler, who finds no evidence that a high population density of raccoons leads to negative effects on the biodiversity of an area. Hohmann holds that extensive hunting cannot be justified by the absence of natural predators, because predation is not a significant cause of death in the North American raccoon population.
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
The raccoon is extensively hunted in Germany as it is seen as an invasive species and pest. In the 1990s, only about 400 raccoons were hunted yearly. This increased dramatically over the next quarter-century: during the 2015–2016 hunting season, 128,100 raccoons were hunted, 60 percent of them in the state of Hesse.
Distribution in the former Soviet Union
Experiments in acclimatising raccoons into the Soviet Union began in 1936, and were repeated a further 25 times until 1962. Overall, 1,222 individuals were released, 64 of which came from zoos and fur farms (38 of them having been imports from western Europe). The remainder originated from a population previously established in Transcaucasia. The range of Soviet raccoons was never single or continuous, as they were often introduced to different locations far from each other. All introductions into the Russian Far East failed; melanistic raccoons were released on Petrov Island near Vladivostok and some areas of southern Primorsky Krai, but died. In Middle Asia, raccoons were released in Kyrgyzstan's Jalal-Abad Province, though they were later recorded as "practically absent" there in January 1963. A large and stable raccoon population (yielding 1,000~1,500 catches a year) was established in Azerbaijan after an introduction to the area in 1937. Raccoons apparently survived an introduction near Terek, along the Sulak River into the Dagestani lowlands. Attempts to settle raccoons on the Kuban River's left tributary and Kabardino-Balkaria were unsuccessful. A successful acclimatization occurred in Belarus, where three introductions (consisting of 52, 37, and 38 individuals in 1954 and 1958) took place. By January 1963, 700 individuals were recorded in the country.
Urban raccoons
Due to its adaptability, the raccoon has been able to use urban areas as a habitat. The first sightings were recorded in a suburb of Cincinnati in the 1920s. Since the 1950s, raccoons have been present in metropolitan areas like Washington, DC, Chicago, Toronto, and New York City. Since the 1960s, Kassel has hosted Europe's first and densest population in a large urban area, with about 50 to 150 animals per square kilometer (130 to 390 animals per square mile), a figure comparable to those of urban habitats in North America. Home range sizes of urban raccoons are only 3 to 40 hectares (7.5 to 100 acres) for females and 8 to 80 hectares (20 to 200 acres) for males. In small towns and suburbs, many raccoons sleep in a nearby forest after foraging in the settlement area. Fruit and insects in gardens and leftovers in municipal waste are easily available food sources. Furthermore, a large number of additional sleeping areas exist in these areas, such as hollows in old garden trees, cottages, garages, abandoned houses, and attics. The percentage of urban raccoons sleeping in abandoned or occupied houses varies from 15% in Washington, DC (1991) to 43% in Kassel (2003).
Health
Raccoons can carry rabies, a lethal disease caused by the neurotropic rabies virus carried in the saliva and transmitted by bites. Its spread began in Florida and Georgia in the 1950s and was facilitated by the introduction of infected individuals to Virginia and North Dakota in the late 1970s. Of the 6,940 documented rabies cases reported in the United States in 2006, 2,615 (37.7%) were in raccoons. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, as well as local authorities in several U.S. states and Canadian provinces, has developed oral vaccination programs to fight the spread of the disease in endangered populations. Only one human fatality has been reported after transmission of the rabies virus strain commonly known as "raccoon rabies". Among the main symptoms for rabies in raccoons are a generally sickly appearance, impaired mobility, abnormal vocalization, and aggressiveness. There may be no visible signs at all, however, and most individuals do not show the aggressive behavior seen in infected canids; rabid raccoons will often retire to their dens instead. Organizations like the U.S. Forest Service encourage people to stay away from animals with unusual behavior or appearance, and to notify the proper authorities, such as an animal control officer from the local health department. Since healthy animals, especially nursing mothers, will occasionally forage during the day, daylight activity is not a reliable indicator of illness in raccoons.
Unlike rabies and at least a dozen other pathogens carried by raccoons, distemper, an epizootic virus, does not affect humans. This disease is the most frequent natural cause of death in the North American raccoon population and affects individuals of all age groups. For example, 94 of 145 raccoons died during an outbreak in Clifton, Ohio, in 1968. It may occur along with a following inflammation of the brain (encephalitis), causing the animal to display rabies-like symptoms. In Germany, the first eight cases of distemper were reported in 2007.
Some of the most important bacterial diseases which affect raccoons are leptospirosis, listeriosis, tetanus, and tularemia. Although internal parasites weaken their immune systems, well-fed individuals can carry a great many roundworms in their digestive tracts without showing symptoms. The larvae of the roundworm Baylisascaris procyonis, which can be contained in the feces and seldom causes a severe illness in humans, can be ingested when cleaning raccoon latrines without wearing breathing protection.
While not endemic, the worm Trichinella does infect raccoons, and undercooked raccoon meat has caused trichinosis in humans.
Trematode Metorchis conjunctus can also infect raccoons.
Relationship with humans
Raccoons have become notorious in urban areas for consuming food waste. They possess impressive problem-solving abilities and can break into all but the most secure food waste bins, which has earned them the derisive nickname trash panda. The presence of raccoons in close proximity to humans may be undesirable, as raccoon droppings (like most wild animals) contain parasites and other disease vectors. Raccoon roundworm is of particular concern to public health. It can be contracted in humans by accidental ingestion or inhalation of the eggs, which are present in the feces of infected raccoons. While usually harmless to the host, it causes progressive neurological damage in humans, and is eventually fatal if untreated. It is found in about 60% of adult raccoons. The general presence of raccoons in an area is not typically of concern, but nests or droppings found within or near structures should be destroyed. Roundworm eggs are very robust and bleach alone is insufficient; burning or treatment with hot solutions of sodium hydroxide is required. The keeping of raccoons as pets is illegal in some jurisdictions due to these risks.
The increasing number of raccoons in urban areas has resulted in diverse reactions in humans, ranging from outrage at their presence to deliberate feeding. Some wildlife experts and most public authorities caution against feeding wild animals because they might become increasingly obtrusive and dependent on humans as a food source. Other experts challenge such arguments and give advice on feeding raccoons and other wildlife in their books. Raccoons without a fear of humans are a concern to those who attribute this trait to rabies, but scientists point out this behavior is much more likely to be a behavioral adjustment to living in habitats with regular contact to humans for many generations. Raccoons usually do not prey on domestic cats and dogs, but isolated cases of killings have been reported. Attacks on pets may also target their owners.
A Florida raccoon (P. l. elucus) in the Everglades approaches a group of humans, hoping to be fed
While overturned waste containers and raided fruit trees are just a nuisance to homeowners, it can cost several thousand dollars to repair damage caused by the use of attic space as dens. Relocating or killing raccoons without a permit is forbidden in many urban areas on grounds of animal welfare. These methods usually only solve problems with particularly wild or aggressive individuals, since adequate dens are either known to several raccoons or will quickly be rediscovered. Loud noises, flashing lights, and unpleasant odors have proven particularly effective in driving away a mother and her kits before they would normally leave the nesting place (when the kits are about eight weeks old). Typically, though, only precautionary measures to restrict access to food waste and den sites are effective in the long term.
Among all fruits and crops cultivated in agricultural areas, sweet corn in its milk stage is particularly popular among raccoons.[309][310] In a two-year study by Purdue University researchers, published in 2004, raccoons were responsible for 87% of the damage to corn plants. Like other predators, raccoons searching for food can break into poultry houses to feed on chickens, ducks, their eggs, or food.
Mythology, arts, and entertainment
In the mythology of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the raccoon is the subject of folk tales. Stories such as "How raccoons catch so many crayfish" from the Tuscarora centered on its skills at foraging. In other tales, the raccoon played the role of the trickster which outsmarts other animals, like coyotes and wolves. Among others, the Dakota believe the raccoon has natural spirit powers, since its mask resembles the facial paintings, two-fingered swashes of black and white, used during rituals to connect to spirit beings. The Aztecs linked supernatural abilities especially to females, whose commitment to their young was associated with the role of wise women in their society.
The raccoon also appears in Native American art across a wide geographic range. Petroglyphs with engraved raccoon tracks were found in Lewis Canyon, Texas; at the Crow Hollow petroglyph site in Grayson County, Kentucky; and in river drainages near Tularosa, the San Francisco River of New Mexico and Arizona. The meaning and significance of the Raccoon Priests Gorget, which features a stylized carving of a raccoon and was found at the Spiro Mounds, Oklahoma, remains unknown.
Hunting and fur trade
The fur of raccoons is used for clothing, especially for coats and coonskin caps. At present, it is the material used for the inaccurately named "sealskin" cap worn by the Royal Fusiliers of Great Britain. Sporrans made of raccoon pelt and hide have sometimes been used as part of traditional Scottish highland men's apparel since the 18th century, especially in North America. Such sporrans may or may not be of the "full-mask" type. Historically, Native American tribes not only used the fur for winter clothing, but also used the tails for ornament. The famous Sioux leader Spotted Tail took his name from a raccoon skin hat with the tail attached he acquired from a fur trader. Since the late 18th century, various types of scent hounds, called coonhounds, which are able to tree animals have been bred in the United States. In the 19th century, when coonskins occasionally even served as means of payment, several thousand raccoons were killed each year in the United States. This number rose quickly when automobile coats became popular after the turn of the 20th century. In the 1920s, wearing a raccoon coat was regarded as status symbol among college students. Attempts to breed raccoons in fur farms in the 1920s and 1930s in North America and Europe turned out not to be profitable, and farming was abandoned after prices for long-haired pelts dropped in the 1940s. Although raccoons had become rare in the 1930s, at least 388,000 were killed during the hunting season of 1934–1935.
After persistent population increases began in the 1940s, the seasonal coon hunting harvest reached about one million animals in 1946–1947 and two million in 1962–1963. The broadcast of three television episodes about the frontiersman Davy Crockett and the film Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier in 1954 and 1955 led to a high demand for coonskin caps in the United States, although it is unlikely either Crockett or the actor who played him, Fess Parker, actually wore a cap made from raccoon fur. The seasonal hunt reached an all-time high with 5.2 million animals in 1976–1977 and ranged between 3.2 and 4.7 million for most of the 1980s. In 1982, the average pelt price was $20. As of 1987, the raccoon was identified as the most important wild furbearer in North America in terms of revenue. In the first half of the 1990s, the seasonal hunt dropped to 0.9 from 1.9 million due to decreasing pelt prices.
Food
While primarily hunted for their fur, raccoons were also a source of food for Native Americans and early American settlers. According to Ernest Thompson Seton, young specimens killed without a fight are palatable, whereas old raccoons caught after a lengthy battle are inedible. Raccoon meat was extensively eaten during the early years of California, where it was sold in the San Francisco market for $1–3 apiece. American slaves occasionally ate raccoon at Christmas, but it was not necessarily a dish of the poor or rural. The first edition of The Joy of Cooking, released in 1931, contained a recipe for preparing raccoon, and US President Calvin Coolidge's pet raccoon Rebecca was originally sent to be served at the White House Thanksgiving Dinner.
Although the idea of eating raccoons may seem repulsive to most mainstream consumers, who see them as endearing, cute, or vermin, several thousand raccoons are still eaten each year in the United States, primarily in the Southern United States. Some people tout the taste of the meat.
Other uses
In addition to the fur and meat, the raccoon baculum (penis bone) have had numerous traditional uses in the Southern United States and beyond. Indigenous people used the bones as a pipe cleaning tool. The bones were used by moonshine distillers to guide the flow of whiskey from the drip tube to the bottle. With their tips filed down, the bones were used as toothpicks under the moniker "coon rods". In hoodoo, the folk magic of the American South, the baculum is sometimes worn as an amulet for love or luck. The bones also have decorative uses (e.g. on the trademark hat of stock car racer Richard Petty or as earrings by actresses Sarah Jessica Parker and Vanessa Williams).
Pet raccoons
Raccoons are sometimes kept as pets, which is discouraged by many experts because the raccoon is not a domesticated species. Raccoons may act unpredictably and aggressively and it is extremely difficult to teach them to obey commands. In places where keeping raccoons as pets is not forbidden, such as in Wisconsin and other U.S. states, an exotic pet permit may be required. One notable pet raccoon was Rebecca, kept by US president Calvin Coolidge.
Their propensity for unruly behavior exceeds that of captive skunks, and they are even less trustworthy when allowed to roam freely. Because of their intelligence and nimble forelimbs, even inexperienced raccoons are easily capable of unscrewing jars, uncorking bottles and opening door latches, with more experienced specimens having been recorded to open door knobs. Sexually mature raccoons often show aggressive natural behaviors such as biting during the mating season. Neutering them at around five or six months of age decreases the chances of aggressive behavior developing. Raccoons can become obese and suffer from other disorders due to poor diet and lack of exercise. When fed with cat food over a long time period, raccoons can develop gout. With respect to the research results regarding their social behavior, it is now required by law in Austria and Germany to keep at least two individuals to prevent loneliness. Raccoons are usually kept in a pen (indoor or outdoor), also a legal requirement in Austria and Germany, rather than in the apartment where their natural curiosity may result in damage to property.
When orphaned, it is possible for kits to be rehabilitated and reintroduced to the wild. However, it is uncertain whether they readapt well to life in the wild. Feeding unweaned kits with cow's milk rather than a kitten replacement milk or a similar product can be dangerous to their health.