Florida has gators and California has raccoons

[GatorChris]

Did it look anything like this? If so, I'd steer clear.

 

[sweethannah]

Trash Pandas

 

[gottalovepluto]

Of course, no one's ever said, "Everybody run! Here comes a raccoon!!!"

ROFL!!!

 

[Nonsuch]

Did it look anything like this? If so, I'd steer clear.

Good advice

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

You have rabies? Is it common? How awful. We do not have it in the UK. I guess being a small island it was easier for us to control it.

 

[CalgaryTroy]

i think the comparison of dangerous animals in CA vs. FL might be a little offbase....
a quick search of stats ( very unscientific... ) : since 1948 FL has 23 fatal alligator attacks and 383 total attacks, CA has 3 fatal bear & 3 fatal cougar/mtn lion attacks, with total attacks in the teens. This AND the size of CA is about 3 times that of FL ( 164K sq mi. vs 66K sq. mi.)
I think FL wins the " more dangerous state" prize { Not the MOST dangerous state prize tho' .....but who knows}

 

[sheetz]

Disneyland is famous for their ferral cats. Raccoons? Not seen many of those in my lifetime. You hear about coyotes in the foothill areas on occasion.

 

[Disney Dad ADL]

You have rabies? Is it common? How awful. We do not have it in the UK. I guess being a small island it was easier for us to control it.

It's very uncommon for humans to get rabies in the US. Less than 5 cases per year in the U.S. If someone got rabies at Disneyland, it would probably be in the news.

 

[Cal-Pie]

When I was waiting at rope drop last spring, I had a good long chat with a security guard who told me that they regularly see raccoons and foxes in the park. I was surprised, apparently they enjoy crowds more than I do.

 

[mmmears]

I've also seen raccoons in my urban neighborhood. They were living in the storm water system underground; they would come out of the curb/street side drain in the evenings to look for food. As others have said, as long as you leave them alone they'll generally leave you alone. I've not seen raccoons in DLR; mostly I've seen ducks, Canadian Geese, birds, mice/rats (not just Mickey), and cats!

We live in a pretty dense suburb in CA and have had issues with raccoons. As you mentioned, the pest guy showed us how you could trace their little footprints right to the storm drains. He said they use them like a highway and then pop up wherever they feel like. I've only seen them out at dusk or at night... same with the possums. Raccoons are pretty common in California.

ETA: Our "coolest" Disney wildlife sighting was an armadillo walking around Typhoon Lagoon at WDW during a thunderstorm (all the humans were told to seek shelter in the shops, so he kind of had that park to himself at that point).

 

[Aladora]

I've also seen raccoons in my urban neighborhood. They were living in the storm water system underground; they would come out of the curb/street side drain in the evenings to look for food. As others have said, as long as you leave them alone they'll generally leave you alone. I've not seen raccoons in DLR; mostly I've seen ducks, Canadian Geese, birds, mice/rats (not just Mickey), and cats!

Stay away from those Canadian Geese, they are vicious creatures!

 

[Malcon10t]

We were just walking between Grizzly and the Grand Californian and saw a raccoon cross the walkway from Grizzly to the Grand!! Is this a typical sighting here??

There is also a possum that hangs out by the Adventure Tower at the Disneyland Hotel. And a LOT of cats!

 

[bcla]

i think the comparison of dangerous animals in CA vs. FL might be a little offbase....
a quick search of stats ( very unscientific... ) : since 1948 FL has 23 fatal alligator attacks and 383 total attacks, CA has 3 fatal bear & 3 fatal cougar/mtn lion attacks, with total attacks in the teens. This AND the size of CA is about 3 times that of FL ( 164K sq mi. vs 66K sq. mi.)
I think FL wins the " more dangerous state" prize { Not the MOST dangerous state prize tho' .....but who knows}

The only fatal bear incidents in California in that time were captive grizzly/brown bears. Before then there were grizzly bears that might have killed people. I don't think there's ever been a recorded case of a black bear killing a person in California. However, I've certainly heard of attacks. Typically food is involved, like someone who put his cooler out on a picnic table instead of a bear box. He went out to confront the bear, which swatted at him and ran away.

However, the most dangerous animal in California is the black-tailed deer. It's responsible for more deaths than any other wild animal - mostly due to collisions with vehicles. There was also a case of a male deer goring a man to death with its antlers. He lived in a gated community near San Diego.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/uniontrib/20051020/news_7m20deer.html

 

[bcla]

You have rabies? Is it common? How awful. We do not have it in the UK. I guess being a small island it was easier for us to control it.

I read that there's still rabies in the UK found in bats.

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Rabies/Pages/Introduction.aspx

I did find it odd that the rabies vaccine isn't required for dogs or cats. It's required in the United States.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

I read that there's still rabies in the UK found in bats.

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Rabies/Pages/Introduction.aspx

I did find it odd that the rabies vaccine isn't required for dogs or cats. It's required in the United States.

Oh my! I have never heard of anyone here getting rabies I think it would be too rare to vacine. Any dogs or cats coming into the UK go into quartitine for I think it is 6 months. But of course I am sure it can always be found someplace it just isn't an issue anymore. There are very rarely cases of humans getting it.

 

[CateinPhoenix]

We saw a raccoon also, near the Redwood Creek area!

LOVE the Disneyland CATS

 

[Canadian Harmony]

My cat got into a fight with a raccoon when we first got him. He walked away with a nick in his ear - very lucky. We have so many deer, they're like gophers, popping up all over the place and eating all my flowers. We have a black bear who uses our subdivision as a highway to get from one part of the forest to the other. Harmless unless you get in the way or between a female and her cub. I know there's a cougar out back somewhere - with all the deer we have, there has to be - but they have really big territories, so we might see it once every 2 years if at all. We hear it though.

Racoons are really becoming more urban - my friend in Toronto was out on her back patio reading and casually reached down to pet her cat... twas a raccoon! And another one had gone in the house to eat the cat kibble!

 

[bcla]

My cat got into a fight with a raccoon when we first got him. He walked away with a nick in his ear - very lucky. We have so many deer, they're like gophers, popping up all over the place and eating all my flowers. We have a black bear who uses our subdivision as a highway to get from one part of the forest to the other. Harmless unless you get in the way or between a female and her cub. I know there's a cougar out back somewhere - with all the deer we have, there has to be - but they have really big territories, so we might see it once every 2 years if at all. We hear it though.

Racoons are really becoming more urban - my friend in Toronto was out on her back patio reading and casually reached down to pet her cat... twas a raccoon! And another one had gone in the house to eat the cat kibble!

Most black bears will take off when confronted, even if they have cubs. They train their cubs to climb trees, and their excellent sense of smell allows them to find them pretty easily. Now a brown bear is another matter. I've come across a black bear with three cubs and didn't feel that there was any danger. It just basically walked away. I'm pretty sure I could have gotten it to take off if I acted aggressively.

http://www.bear.org/website/bear-pa...between-a-black-bear-mother-and-her-cubs.html

One of the biggest misconceptions about black bears is that mothers are likely to attack people in defense of cubs.

That is a grizzly bear trait. 70% of the killings by grizzly bears are by mothers defending cubs. But there is no record of a black bear killing anyone in defense of cubs.

In fact, mothers with cubs were involved in only 3 of the 60 killings by black bears across America since 1900, and none of those 3 killings appeared to be in defense of cubs.

Non-fatal attacks are also rare. By attacks, we mean mothers coming after someone and hurting them — not minor injuries associated with people hand-feeding them. Maybe a dozen people have had their feet bitten when they tried to escape up trees. Attacks on the ground are very rare.

When humans confront black bear families in the woods, the bears almost always retreat or climb trees. If the cubs climb trees and the mother remains nearby, the mother may show bluster. This makes her appear ferocious, but it simply means she is nervous. ​

 

[DisneylandDarling]

Are you sure it wasn't a cat? Some of those longhair cats can get really big and resemble a raccoon, especially from far away. We always joke that my aunt's cat is part raccoon because he looks so much like one.

If I saw a raccoon at Disneyland I would probably try and pet him and keep him as a souvenier, which would probably be a fatal mistake for me! lol

 

[Canadian Harmony]

Most black bears will take off when confronted, even if they have cubs. They train their cubs to climb trees, and their excellent sense of smell allows them to find them pretty easily. Now a brown bear is another matter. I've come across a black bear with three cubs and didn't feel that there was any danger. It just basically walked away. I'm pretty sure I could have gotten it to take off if I acted aggressively.

http://www.bear.org/website/bear-pa...between-a-black-bear-mother-and-her-cubs.html

One of the biggest misconceptions about black bears is that mothers are likely to attack people in defense of cubs.

That is a grizzly bear trait. 70% of the killings by grizzly bears are by mothers defending cubs. But there is no record of a black bear killing anyone in defense of cubs.

In fact, mothers with cubs were involved in only 3 of the 60 killings by black bears across America since 1900, and none of those 3 killings appeared to be in defense of cubs.

Non-fatal attacks are also rare. By attacks, we mean mothers coming after someone and hurting them — not minor injuries associated with people hand-feeding them. Maybe a dozen people have had their feet bitten when they tried to escape up trees. Attacks on the ground are very rare.

When humans confront black bear families in the woods, the bears almost always retreat or climb trees. If the cubs climb trees and the mother remains nearby, the mother may show bluster. This makes her appear ferocious, but it simply means she is nervous. ​

That may be true, but I'm not stickin' around to test the theory! LOL