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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday August 23, 2008 - 3 Raccoon may never eat peanut butter again By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF An Oakville raccoon looking for some peanut buttery goodness got more than it bargained for Friday morning when his head became stuck in a plastic jar. Given the day's heat the creature could have faced a slow death from dehydration, but fortunately it happened to cross paths with Gary Hayes on Ingledene Drive. "I was leaving for work and I saw the raccoon in the driveway with a bottle on its head," he said. "It was disoriented, just kind of hanging around and then when it saw me it got scared and went through the fence and up a tree." Despite the inconvenience of having a jar on its head the raccoon succeeded in climbing about 20-feet into the tree where it stayed, perhaps contemplating its situation. "It didn't know what to do with itself, it was obvious it didn't have enough air," said Hayes. "So, I called the Humane Society." Ernie Moore of Oakville and District Humane Society arrived on the scene shortly thereafter, but did not have the equipment necessary to get the raccoon down and so a private animal control company was called. "The peanut butter jar on the head is classic," said Brandon Crawford, of Humane Wildlife Control. "We see that a few times each year." Grabbing a long pole with a snare on the end Crawford mounted a ladder and went up into tree after the imperiled raccoon. From the moment the snare closed in around the raccoon's body, the creature made it clear it was not going to cooperate. The raccoon could be seen baring its teeth through the clear jar as it screamed in protest. The raccoon also grabbed onto just about every tree branch on its way down making Crawford's descent all the more difficult. "Okay let's go. I just don't want you defecating all over me, if that's all right with you," said Crawford to the raccoon, as the two came down the ladder. "I still have a full day of work ahead of me." With the raccoon out of the tree, Crawford used a gloved hand to pin it to the ground at which point the raccoon let loose a guttural squeal just as Moore pulled the peanut butter jar off its head. Free of its burden Crawford released the raccoon, which slowly walked away in a bit of a daze before climbing over a nearby fence and disappearing. "This jar happened to be plastic, which is good because glass ones we sometimes have to break," said Crawford. "The raccoon seems to be find now. Maybe this will be the last time he sticks his head in a peanut butter jar." PHOTOS BY CHRIS KORNACKI / OAKVILLE BEAVER CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH A PEANUT BUTTER JAR: A raccoon with a taste for peanut butter found himself in a jam (above) when it got its head stuck in the jar on Friday morning. A resident on Ingledene Drive spotted the distraught animal and called the Oakville and District Humane Society for help. The Humane Society contacted Humane Wildlife Control, which sees a few animals a year in a similar jam. Eventually, the raccoon was trapped and the jar (below) was removed. CALIFORNIA & PLANTATION SHUTTERS · Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed · Serving Oakville with Shop at Home Service · Wood & Vinyl Shutters, Supplied & Installed · High Quality at Affordable Prices Shop at Home Service Authorized Eclipse Shutters Dealer FREE SHUTTERS ETC. 905.691.4455 · www.shuttersetc.ca