The film in the camera made one last scary sound when I forwarded to the last frame, just when I wanted to take a picture of that little guy, on the table in front of me, drinking his Barq's. I completely forgot about my monopod, took off the heavy bag, put aside all equipment and just walked forward slowly, my right arm stretched out, as if the little camera were some special protective device.
It looked as if a family had prepared a picnic, complete with a grill, cans of soda, colorful blankets. They then abandoned the entire setup to leave it for the current visitor, a small but smart raccoon... these guys are called wash-bears in German and in Polish (szop-pracz) because of their ability to use their little front paws to wash their food... and do other exciting things.
This one in front of me just opened his can of soda and drank the way it was supposed to be drunk. He then went on to eat some of the fat that came down from the grill. (I later found out it was chicken!) He ended up running away with a large bag of rolls... carbohydrates he did not want to leave for the American people, I guess...
The human family arrived as the animal was leaving... the father looked at me as if I had taken his baked goods and drank his precious root-beer.
I thought about chasing the little raccoon away at first, of course, but my film had just ripped, I forgot about all things and yes, the guy really stood his ground. He was not about to leave, not for me for that matter. He was ready to put up a fight. I knew it, he knew it... and so we let each other go... he got the rolls, I got some pictures... that's it...
Raccoons are related to bears... so I can just imagine what scenes go on in places where the larger guys find picnics, abandoned by families...
