“Raccoon In Hollow Cottonwood, Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR, CO”

A photographer once told me to “always check the holes” when traveling though a cottonwood gallery. And I always do. Usually, it’s just a black hole and I stop and check them out anyway – there’s a whole world of wildlife using hollow trees for shelter and nesting. So, last night I was checking holes when a face appeared in a hollow tree that I’ve investigated a hundred times before. I spent some time and viewed noses, hair, an eyeball, a tail, and sometimes a face of a raccoon family in an old cottonwood tree along the Farmer’s Highline Canal. Oh, I know that raccoons can be a nuisance and some people don’t care for them; but they clean up a lot stinky, rotting stuff, a very important job.

This guy seemed on the small size, probably a sub-adult that will get kicked out in spring when a new litter arrives. Check the holes – you never know what may look back at you!
Procyon lotor