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Many animals including coyotes, rabbits and foxes, as well as several different bird species, consider Chicago’s lakefront home or at the very least a sort of spa or hotel. However, a recent influx of visitors, raccoons specifically, appear to have overstayed their welcome and are facing eviction.
They have taken up residence under many docks and evidently decided to do some exploring on several boats (obviously they throw some wild parties since the boat owners report that they leave quite a mess); there has also been some incidents of the little bandits being somewhat aggressive towards people. There have been complaints in the past about the creatures in other parks and even at the lakefront, but officials say it has never been this bad.
The company that manages the harbors, Westrec Marinas, has subcontracted out to Ampest Exterminating and Wildlife Control for them to trap and euthanize the creatures; the Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources has given a permit to the company to remove the animals. The cost for this comes from the harbor budget which gets its revenue from concessions and boat slip rentals.
The law does allow the trappers different options in these cases; they can release the animals within one hundred yards of where they were trapped to turning them over to a vet that is a wildlife rehabilitator to euthanasia. In cases where over population is considered a problem then the option most often chosen is euthanization since officials do not want to just relocate the problem somewhere else.
A spokesman for a local migratory bird sanctuary places the blame for this “infestation” directly on humans. He states that people try to feed what they consider “Disney-like” creatures (which they are not) and this causes the raccoons to continue to come around. It has gotten to the point that police have even begun arresting people that feed the raccoons in the hopes of dissuading others.
So far there have been about 125 raccoons trapped and the process will continue until the problem is under control.
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- DFG Advises Californians to Leave Young Wildlife Alone (yubanet.com)
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