Why Coon?

I wrote this article a couple of months ago and just never got around to publishing it then.

It seems I’m always wondering why animals as well as people do things. Sometimes it is hard to understand. I look outside several times each evening to see what animals come to eat the food we leave out and how they act when there is more than one.

The other night when I looked out there was a big coon eating. Another one was coming up. There are a few times, but not too often, I’ve seen one chase another one off. When the second coon was still about a dozen feet away the first coon ran at him as if he was going to attack. The second coon backed off a little and the first one went back to the food.

The second one came closer again, moving in a circular route. He was fairly near a tree. When the first coon rushed at him he went around the other side of the tree and ran too the food. The first coon just returned to the food. There was no more threat to the other coon. They both started eating.

The first part seems simple to understand. The first coon wanted to frighten the second one away. How did the second one know he would not be attacked for real when he came back? How did he know that if he made it to the food he would not be attacked there? Why did the first one threaten to attack, but did not actually do so? It seemed that when he found out that the first would not be scared away, it was OK to eat with him. What goes on in their minds?

If anyone has any ideas, please tell me.