We've all heard about the Wiley Coyote, and how hard it is to outsmart a fox. If you follow enough western folklore you have heard stories about wolves and how smart they are. Other animals in the wild come to mind too, but when you think of smart, cagey quick-thinking animals, chances are you think of the raccoon. Maybe it's the mysterious mask.

The South Dakota Game Fish and Parks recently concluded their predator bounty program. At the top of the 'most taken' list were Racoons. Thousands of them were trapped around the state. The South Dakota GFP was offering a bounty of $5 per tail. Raccoons are notorious for raiding nests and in particular pheasant nests and with pheasant hunting being huge as it is to the state of South Dakota so it's no secret officials would like to see their numbers much lower!

My wife and I recently visited friends in the Armour area. My friend Dan and his sons have had their live traps out for quite a while. The South Dakota Bounty program is over, but sweet corn is on the way, so they are still protecting that delicacy with several live traps set up around their properties.

So how did this happen? These so-called hyper-intelligent animals were obviously not practicing social distancing. Dan did mention that they have caught 3 a few other times. He said they must hold the door open, to make sure the others can get in. I can almost hear them talking in Raccoon talk;

Hey, what's this? I don't know, what do you think it is, it's an egg! Oh, Lunchtime, come on kids, here, I'll hold the door open so you can get in....click. Ooops, Jr. I thought I told you to stand right there and hold the door!

He also said, they while checking out the captured crew they heard a couple of others rustling around in the reeds and were able to dispatch them quickly as well.

All in all, 7 raccoons were taken, with one egg. Does that have to be some sort of a record?

If you have an unusual story, I'd love to hear it. You can send it to me anytime at jdcollins@kikn.com. And thank you for sharing this story with your Facebook and Twitter friends.

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