# Stanky Raccoon- Request Advice **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 16, 2018, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stanky-raccoon-request-advice/816220 "2018-06-16T20:34:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stanky-raccoon-request-advice/816220/61 "2018-06-19T01:49:56Z")
Maybe a haz-mat suit would be wiser. ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stanky-raccoon-request-advice/816220/62 "2018-06-19T02:00:06Z")
> [@LordHarry](#): > > Could a leaf blower be used to push it into the street further, to facilitate abrupt spreading, thus allowing rain to wash some away and tomorrow desiccation? > > You are damn right that I will go shirtless in pajama bottoms with a leaf blower, if so. If you must push it out into the street then I suggest doing it in the dead of night to minimize witnesses. Use a shovel or an old broom you don’t care about any more. ---
**Author:** ![LordHarry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@LordHarry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LordHarry)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stanky-raccoon-request-advice/816220/63 "2018-06-19T02:19:38Z")
It has begun to rain. The smell is mildly lessened. I decline to push a slippery corpse on a slippery area in the dark. This can only end in tears. We shall wait and hope. ---
**Author:** ![LordHarry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@LordHarry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LordHarry)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stanky-raccoon-request-advice/816220/64 "2018-06-19T04:12:17Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Are you in the city limits? Yes, i live outside a major NY city upstate, in a large well populated suburb and this is on a busy street. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stanky-raccoon-request-advice/816220/65 "2018-06-19T04:31:37Z")
> [@LordHarry](#): > > It has begun to rain. The smell is mildly lessened. I decline to push a slippery corpse on a slippery area in the dark. This can only end in tears. > > We shall wait and hope. This sounds prudent. Have you thought of sticking a “Free” sign on it? Do you have an older couch you could throw into the bargain? ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stanky-raccoon-request-advice/816220/66 "2018-06-19T04:43:23Z")
> [@LordHarry](#): > > . . . > Could a leaf blower be used to push it into the street further, > . . . :eek: Did you learn nothing from the whale clip? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stanky-raccoon-request-advice/816220/67 "2018-06-19T09:52:48Z")
> [@LordHarry](#): > > Down the road, a skunk and a gopher have joined the party. My street jogging is most difficult. This lack of collection, I should add, is new. In previous years I have witnessed road collection. Where is the Carrion Crew? By that, I mean nature’s little undertakers… road kill doesn’t last long around here between the crows, the ravens, SBB’s having a taste, the turkey vultures, the coyotes, feral dogs, raccoons… in general, road kill doesn’t last long enough to get that rank. Yet you now have three corpses just lying along the road? What happened to the scavengers? ---
**Author:** ![senoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@senoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/senoy)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stanky-raccoon-request-advice/816220/68 "2018-06-19T12:37:07Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Where is the Carrion Crew? > > By that, I mean nature’s little undertakers… road kill doesn’t last long around here between the crows, the ravens, SBB’s having a taste, the turkey vultures, the coyotes, feral dogs, raccoons… in general, road kill doesn’t last long enough to get that rank. Yet you now have three corpses just lying along the road? > > What happened to the scavengers? Depending where in upstate New York he lives, vultures are uncommon, especially the northeastern part. Crows were getting awful close to extirpation in New York after the West Nile outbreaks about 10-15 years ago, though I have heard they are rebounding. The ground animals may be avoiding the area, especially if it’s busy, but at the same time, it’s at least slow enough that a raccoon crossed there. I would think the reason though is that it’s a crowded suburb with a low animal density and there are enough food sources elsewhere that not everything gets hit. Best guess is that there aren’t a lot of birds hanging about there and the ground animals are busy enjoying trash. That just leaves the insects and they take their sweet time about it. ---
**Author:** ![senoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@senoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/senoy)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stanky-raccoon-request-advice/816220/69 "2018-06-19T12:47:46Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Where is the Carrion Crew? > > By that, I mean nature’s little undertakers… road kill doesn’t last long around here between the crows, the ravens, SBB’s having a taste, the turkey vultures, the coyotes, feral dogs, raccoons… in general, road kill doesn’t last long enough to get that rank. Yet you now have three corpses just lying along the road? > > What happened to the scavengers? The other burning question that has yet to be asked is ‘How the heck did a gopher end up in New York?’ The plains pocket gopher is probably the most eastern distributed species and it doesn’t get any further east than maybe Ft. Wayne, Indiana or so. That little gopher in New York must have been a traveler, get that corpse to the Fish and Wildlife Services pronto. They’ll be scratching their head as to how it ended up in Albany. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stanky-raccoon-request-advice/816220/70 "2018-06-19T13:00:06Z")
> [@senoy](#): > > The other burning question that has yet to be asked is ‘How the heck did a gopher end up in New York?’ The plains pocket gopher is probably the most eastern distributed species and it doesn’t get any further east than maybe Ft. Wayne, Indiana or so. That little gopher in New York must have been a traveler, get that corpse to the Fish and Wildlife Services pronto. They’ll be scratching their head as to how it ended up in Albany. I’ve heard people around here (western PA) call our groundhogs “gophers”. ---
**Author:** ![senoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@senoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/senoy)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stanky-raccoon-request-advice/816220/71 "2018-06-19T13:09:10Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I’ve heard people around here (western PA) call our groundhogs “gophers”. Really? I’m in Morgantown, WV and we call them groundhogs. Occasionally someone will say whistlepig, but I’ve only heard gophers called gophers. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stanky-raccoon-request-advice/816220/72 "2018-06-19T13:39:09Z")
> [@senoy](#): > > The other burning question that has yet to be asked is ‘How the heck did a gopher end up in New York?’ The plains pocket gopher is probably the most eastern distributed species and it doesn’t get any further east than maybe Ft. Wayne, Indiana or so. That little gopher in New York must have been a traveler, get that corpse to the Fish and Wildlife Services pronto. They’ll be scratching their head as to how it ended up in Albany. Either that, or someone’s pet got loose or was abandoned. There’s a special circle of hell for people who abandon pets - such animals have no skills to survive in the wild. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stanky-raccoon-request-advice/816220/73 "2018-06-19T14:23:04Z")
> [@senoy](#): > > Really? I’m in Morgantown, WV and we call them groundhogs. Occasionally someone will say whistlepig, but I’ve only heard gophers called gophers. Yep, 99.9% call them groundhogs, but I’ve heard one or two people call them gophers. No idea why. Tangentially, a guy I know was embroiled in a legal battle with the little old lady who was his neighbor. She would buy bags of bird seed, open them, then dump the seed into piles in her yard to feed “the wildlife”. He got pictures of rats feeding on the seed and approached the code enforcement people. She argued that they were not rats, but rather _pocket gophers_, which code enforcement, he and I had never even heard of. When the case was in small claims court (long story) I suggested he use the bible to support his case (the part about not spilling your seed on the ground).🙂 ---
**Author:** ![LordHarry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@LordHarry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LordHarry)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stanky-raccoon-request-advice/816220/74 "2018-06-19T16:17:19Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Either that, or someone’s pet got loose or was abandoned. > > There’s a special circle of hell for people who abandon pets - such animals have no skills to survive in the wild. There are a shit ton of gophers here. They are native. You are probably thinking of Badgers. ---
**Author:** ![LordHarry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@LordHarry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LordHarry)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stanky-raccoon-request-advice/816220/75 "2018-06-19T16:19:18Z")
If you wish to help me encourage local services to remove the beast, please up vote my request. Seriously minimal services makes those choices based on popularity. May the odds be ever in my favor. [Http://seeclickfix.com/issues/45808589](Http://seeclickfix.com/issues/45808589) ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stanky-raccoon-request-advice/816220/76 "2018-06-19T16:28:29Z")
Your link doesn’t work. I got a error page. I wholeheartedly support you. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stanky-raccoon-request-advice/816220/77 "2018-06-19T16:39:47Z")
> [@LordHarry](#): > > There are a shit ton of gophers here. They are native. You are probably thinking of Badgers. I don’t know what you are calling gophers, but there aren’t any actual gophers in New York State. They are found in the western US and Florida. How big are these supposed gophers? [Actual gophers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gopher#/media/File:Pocket-Gopher_Ano-Nuevo-SP.jpg) are the size of a large mouse or small rat. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stanky-raccoon-request-advice/816220/78 "2018-06-19T16:52:56Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Get real close, and poke it with a short, sharp stick. Ate lunch with a bunch of old EHD guys once. They got to talking about having to dispose of bloated cows. The trick is to use a long, pointed hook. You stand on one side of the cow and reach over to create a breach on the other side of the cow. Do not try to move a taut cow without breaching first. ---
**Author:** ![LordHarry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@LordHarry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LordHarry)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stanky-raccoon-request-advice/816220/79 "2018-06-19T17:19:50Z")
This is the animal known locally as gopher or groundhog interchangeably.ymmv. > **[Groundhog](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog?wprov=sfla1)** > > Mus monax Linnaeus, 1758 > Arctomys monax (Linnaeus, 1758) > The groundhog (Marmota monax), also known as a woodchuck, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. > The groundhog is a lowland creature of North America; it is found through much of the Eastern United States, across Canada and into Alaska. > It was first scientifically described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. ---
**Author:** ![LordHarry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@LordHarry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LordHarry)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stanky-raccoon-request-advice/816220/80 "2018-06-19T17:21:11Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Your link doesn’t work. I got a error page. I wholeheartedly support you. Link fixed [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stanky-raccoon-request-advice/816220.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stanky-raccoon-request-advice/816220.md?page=5)