Last summer, the media reported that there were dozens of raccoons in the community, songjiang district Milano Guidu community for a while became the focus of attention, in fact, more and more citizens have reflected in their own communities to see the appearance of wild raccoons Previously reported: out of control! "Take out the garbage at night, more than a dozen pairs of glowing eyes look at you", dozens of raccoons in a small area of Shanghai are infested, all wild... Someone's in charge! About 60 wild raccoons in a small area of Songjiang frighten residents... Trapping has already begun, but how to please walk them is too tricky. There are traces of raccoons in 140 communities in Shanghai, as well as fireflies and badgers... Are the wildlife in town doing well?
↑ Raccoon in a small garden in the city. (Courtesy of Wang Fang)
Are they harmful? Carry a virus? How can we coexist with them? In Shanghai, a survey of the national second-level protected wildlife, the raccoon, was announced through more than 200 raccoon clues provided by the public, and investigators rushed to more than 300 communities across high-rise buildings, and the distribution of thousands of neon raccoons in Shanghai has gradually become clear...
The survey was jointly initiated by the Shanshui Nature Conservation Center and the Wang Fang Conservation Biology Research Team of Fudan University under the guidance of the Wildlife Conservation Division of the Municipal Greening and City Appearance Administration, the Municipal Forestry Station, and the Municipal Park Management Affairs Center.
Where do Shanghai raccoons like to stay?
The number and breadth of raccoons far exceeds what you think. In terms of the distribution of Shanghai raccoons, Songjiang, Minhang and Qingpu districts are the places with the most raccoons in Shanghai. The survey results show that the Songjiang District, located in the southwest of Shanghai, is the most frequent area for raccoons: there are 78 communities, parks, urban green spaces and other plots of land with raccoons! In addition, there are also large and contiguous raccoon distributions in Minhang and Qingpu districts. The distribution of Yangpu, Pudong and other places is relatively sporadic. There is currently no evidence of raccoon distribution on Chongming Island.
Wu Yiqian, scientific adviser of the Shanshui Nature Conservation Center, said that in the mouths of the locals of Songjiang in Shanghai, in the past, where the rice fields of Songjiang were everywhere, they could occasionally see raccoons moving in the fields and by the river; when the pace of urbanization replaced all this, the raccoons as indigenous people quickly adapted to the new environment of high-rise buildings. Because the raccoon's ability to dig holes is not strong, the existing holes under the wall base are very popular with them, in this case, they only need to dig the floating soil on the surface of the green belt of the wall base to find a deep and safe "underground palace"; this kind of hole occupies more than 80% of the survey. In addition, the rockery is also one of the places with the highest occupancy rate of raccoons. The rockery is not only a favorite ready-made hollow of the raccoon, but also close to the water's edge and green belt.
On the whole, there are vast green areas in the new communities, villa areas, and campuses in the suburbs, so it is not difficult to see the raccoons. People like communities with high greening rates, and raccoons also like it. In contrast, it is difficult to see the raccoon in many shikumen, commercial districts and some old residential areas in downtown Shanghai, where the road surface is more hardened. What do raccoons eat when they live in these places? Investigators say there is no detailed study of the feeding habits of Shanghai, but the raccoon is an opportunist who relies heavily on habitat, seasonal and other factors in the wild, that is, what to eat is not too picky. Wang Fang, a researcher at Fudan University, said, "In our observation, Shanghai raccoons like to look for food in the soil and water edge of the green belt, and occasionally eat cat food and wet garbage fed to stray cats. ”
How to get along with raccoons: "Turn a blind eye"
Cities are human-dominated ecosystems, but they are also home to many wildlife. Last year, a raccoon incident broke out in a small area of Sijing, Songjiang, and the rapid expansion of the population had a certain impact on the normal life of the residents of the community. So, if the public encounters a raccoon, how should they deal with it? In a word: "turning a blind eye" is our greatest tenderness.
(1) Don't be afraid of raccoons
The raccoon is a nocturnal animal that does not actively attack people. Usually, when it sees a person approaching, it will first be on alert and then quickly flee. Urban raccoons are accustomed to human activities, and the distance from alert to escape is shorter than that of many wild animals, so many people mistakenly believe that raccoons are not afraid of people. But Wu Yiqian said: "We have observed hundreds of raccoons, and there has never been a single one that can get people straight up to within 5 meters, let alone take the initiative to hurt people." ”
(2) Do not feed raccoons
Feeding by humans may cause raccoons to erupt in small local populations. This is not a good thing, it will exacerbate the spread of scabies mites and the like, increase intraspecific conflicts, increase the impact on other organisms such as humans... Feeding the raccoons directly can also trigger a change in their behavior: they will not only lose their vigilance, but will also actively approach begging. This will not only incapacitate the raccoons in the wild, but also increase the potential for conflict between the raccoons.
(3) Do not touch the raccoon
Like stray cats and dogs, raccoons can also be infected with parasites or infectious diseases such as scabies mites; as wild animals, if raccoons are actively attacked by large dogs, people, etc., they will also desperately resist. Leashing when walking a dog and reducing the free range of stray cats can reduce the direct contact between most pets and raccoons. If you see a small raccoon on the side of the road in early summer, you cannot pet it out of kindness and take it away for breeding. Keep your distance from the raccoons, don't make active contact, and treat them and us well.
(4) Do not harm the raccoon
At the beginning of this year, the raccoon was upgraded to a national second-level protected animal, and all kinds of acts of catching and injuring wild raccoons without authorization were prohibited by law. If the presence of raccoons does affect people's daily lives, they can contact the wildlife protection department to deal with it.
Source: Talk box, Shangguan News, Morning News, Shanshui Nature Conservation Center, etc