Crazy Coon

As those who read many of my articles know, I love to watch animals and birds. I leave food out for the wild animals at night and watch them off and on. It is fascinating and enjoyable. Also I’m learning a little about them.

A couple of weeks ago I flipped on the outside light and saw a coon at the water pan. He left it and went to the food pan. Nothing unusual here. Often the coons drink after eating, but if one drinks before or while eating it would not be anything to pay special attention to.

What surprised me was that he immediately went right back to the water. Uhh ohh. Could something be wrong? That is returning to water very quickly. He stayed at the water a while. Was he that thirsty? Then he went back to the food and immediately back to the water. A coon drinking that much water had me wondering. Was he crazy? Was the coon sick? I named him Crazy Coon even though I did not know the reason for his action then.

I started watching closer. The coon was soaking the dry cat food before eating it. He seemed to be a smart coon. When he finished one piece of food he would get another and soak it.

There are two possible reasons I can think of for soaking the food. There are probably some I can’t think of. One would be to get it softer. He did not soak it long enough to soften it much. At least that is what it seems to me. Put some dry cat or dog food in water and see. It does not immediately turn soft, and he did not wait, he ate it immediately.

The other reason that might be true is it could bring out more flavor. I have not tried this as I don’t want cat or dog food myself. It would seem that when he chewed it dry the taste would come out.

If anyone has any other ideas I would like to hear them.

I published a photo of Crazy Coon at the water pan. It can be seen by clicking on the following link.

http://www.gather.com/viewImage.jsp?fileId=3096224744334002&memberId=67122