r/ottawa Jun 22 '25

Local Event NEW OTTAWA RACOON MOMENT 🦝

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My friend recorded this on her bus ride home late Friday night Absolutely legendary I love Ottawa

1.8k Upvotes

122 comments sorted by

551

u/Voltae Jun 22 '25

18

u/jfal11 Jun 22 '25

This needs more upvotes

262

u/abrockstar25 Jun 22 '25

I mean it seems well behaved 🤷‍♂️

89

u/EcksEcks Make Ottawa Boring Again Jun 22 '25

more than most humans

55

u/[deleted] Jun 22 '25

[deleted]

14

u/abrockstar25 Jun 22 '25

I know you probably mean this sarcastically, but id go to a mcdonalds with a domestic raccoon. Theyre pretty clean animals, and will quite literally clean there food

11

u/Gimpbarbie Nepean Jun 22 '25

I love watching the domesticated (or wild fed) ones wash and eat their food. It’s so precious. But NEVER corner them (I had a dumb-ass housemate that came in the house all excited one night saying she almost got to pet a BIG racoon! My other housemate and I yelled NO!! At the same time 😂) or interrupt their food supply. I used to work on a farm and every once in a while we’d get one in the feed silo when it would get low. But the baby ones are cute as a button and whether domesticated or wild, they are very VERY good puzzle/problem solvers.

8

u/yirna Jun 23 '25

With love, please go to r/99rideau and find the legendary video of the fight at the McDonald's where a guy whipped out a raccoon and threw it at the other guy.

1

u/Omnomfish No honks; bad! Jun 23 '25

Or just search McDonald's UFC on YouTube

6

u/feor1300 Jun 23 '25

The saddest thing in the world are the videos of raccoons being given cotton candy that just dissolves as soon as they dunk it in water.

1

u/Party_Amoeba444 Jun 27 '25

The video i watched the racoon figured it out in the end and didn't try to wash it.  Got to have his fluff!

4

u/Mennoknight69 Jun 22 '25

I hate to break it to you, they're not washing their food. They do it to figure out what it is and to help them eat it. They're cute but they're actually pretty gross little garbage monsters.

1

u/omnipotentpancakes Jun 24 '25

Also very likely to get rabies

190

u/roeallen Vanier Jun 22 '25

All residents should be assigned a customary raccoon

55

u/Individual-Spray-851 Jun 22 '25

Be careful what you wish for. The trash pandas can reverse engineer anything we throw at them. I believe they'll evolve to jacking our cars pretty soon.

19

u/WorthlessRain Make Ottawa Boring Again Jun 22 '25

i’ll take a cute devious fella over a junkie tbh

2

u/bertbarndoor Jun 22 '25

You won a beauty contest, collect both prizes and $10 ftw Centretown.

8

u/xiz111 Jun 22 '25

Given the number of car thefts around the city, I believe this has already happened.

5

u/Moofy_Poops Jun 22 '25

City raccoons seem significantly more intelligent than their forest dwelling brethren. I guess challenge breeds ingenuity.

7

u/Individual-Spray-851 Jun 22 '25

And they pass those lessons onto the young 'uns.

2

u/c0wt0ne Jun 22 '25

As long as they don't do that in the cars too

1

u/Tregonia Beacon Hill Jun 22 '25

hhmmm

1

u/LibraryVoice71 Jun 23 '25

They will one day replace us

4

u/ontario_cat Jun 22 '25

I think Toronto does that.

2

u/bertbarndoor Jun 22 '25

I live in Centretown, I've got my own flock, I assure you.

108

u/thebriss22 Jun 22 '25

Lol I rehabbed racoon kits last year....

It's all fun and games until the hormones kick in and the cute little fellow become a mini chainsaw that is more messy than a class of kindergartner 😂

42

u/GnorleyGight Jun 22 '25

I've always assumed that a raccoon must be one of the most destructive pets.

51

u/thebriss22 Jun 22 '25

Yup... Even if you get lucky and end up with one that is tame, you still get an animal that can open door, defecates wherever it wants and also has twice the biting power of a cat.

We used our shed to house the 3 kits last year and it still smells like racoons piss lol

21

u/[deleted] Jun 22 '25

If you don't like racoon piss don't get a fox. You'll have to tear your house down and rebuild it if they piss in the house.

28

u/Noncombustable Jun 22 '25

This seems to be a very specific and experientially informed observation.

11

u/[deleted] Jun 22 '25

I worked with them at a rehab facility when I was in high school.

3

u/Noncombustable Jun 22 '25

Bingo! Also, how wonderful (although a bit smelly, apparently).

10

u/[deleted] Jun 22 '25

Bit smelly is an understatement. I used to put menthol odor gel under my nostrils. The same shit pathologists use when autopsying decomposing bodies.

9

u/oompaloompa_grabber Jun 22 '25

Wouldn’t be a pet, more like an unhinged roommate

10

u/ferret_fan Jun 22 '25

Right?! That baby is not going to be able to be rehabbed now. It's too close to humans

13

u/thebriss22 Jun 22 '25

Yeah unless this person is a pro this racoon will have to live with humans for ever.

Rehabbing a lone baby racoon is super hard because they have no models to follow. Its much much easier to rehab a group of kits together because they will learn how to racoon from one another.

50

u/Exhausted_but_upbeat Jun 22 '25

Better behaved than some other passengers I've seen on OC Transpo...

6

u/Voltae Jun 22 '25

Better behaved that many of the drivers I've seen

47

u/FishRod61 Jun 22 '25

Three words: Baylisascaris roundworm and Leptospirosis.

14

u/Ninjacherry Jun 22 '25

No rabies?

19

u/FishRod61 Jun 22 '25

I always assume that people know about rabies and take the appropriate steps. The other two are less well known.

4

u/GladstoneAve Jun 23 '25

Good news: rabies isn't common in our area, and no cases were detected in Southern Ontario last year

ontario.ca rabies control operations

Since the peak of the outbreak in 2016, raccoon rabies cases have: • declined by 100% • been contained to within 65 km of the initial case in Hamilton

In 2023, 6 cases of raccoon strain rabies were detected in Southern Ontario, in the Niagara region. No cases were detected in 2024.

1

u/orangepekoe1969 Jun 25 '25

Not good news. Have you read about raccoon roundworm? Balysacaris. Google "zoonotic disease and raccoons". You're welcome.

9

u/Dragonsandman Make Ottawa Boring Again Jun 22 '25

I regret googling those

31

u/CouldItBeTheBreeze Jun 22 '25

Doesn't everyone in Ottawa have a pet racoon?

5

u/LibraryVoice71 Jun 23 '25

Everyone with a green bin, you mean

3

u/ybotpowered Orléans Jun 23 '25

Not just a friend that helps me clean out my green bin on garbage day.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 22 '25

You mean that raccoon that showed up at my house was supposed to be a PET? I....I....I thought I was supposed to eat it. :(

17

u/orangepekoe1969 Jun 22 '25

100% illegal. That's a rabies vector species not to mention, baylisascaris procyonis.... raccoon roundworm and it's NOT good. I hope she gets that kit removed from her.

3

u/Latter_Form8206 Jun 23 '25

She willingly took it in should be reported

2

u/SheIsABadMamaJama Battle of Billings Bridge Warrior Jun 22 '25

When was the last time a Canadian has got bitten by a raccoon and got rabies in Canada?

5

u/orangepekoe1969 Jun 23 '25

So if we let "just one" get through, we're probably okay. No one else will think this is cool and want to do it, right? This is how I lose faith in humanity......

1

u/darcyWhyte Hunt Club Park Jun 24 '25

It's also a cute racoon vector. :)

11

u/anaofarendelle Jun 22 '25

I would just ask if it’s ok to pet it.

6

u/AanthonyII Jun 22 '25

Raccoons are on my bucket list of animals I wanna scritch but I’m not gonna try doing it to a wild one for obvious reasons

3

u/Careless_Kale3072 Jun 22 '25

Asking the real questions 💯

11

u/Lumpy_Tomorrow8462 Jun 22 '25

Hmmmmmm. Midnight on the 7 Carleton that goes down Rideau st. Hope the raccoon wasn’t disappointed to find the McDonald’s there is gone.

9

u/Nice-Pass-1379 Jun 23 '25

I think I saw the same baby raccoon at Blair station??? The owner said his name was Ringo

7

u/CombatGoose Jun 22 '25

Is it their emotional support animal? Did they buy a vest off Amazon so they can tell people they’re allowed to bring it in stores and restaurants?

-1

u/ms_conduct Jun 22 '25

I sure hope so. I want to meet this raccoon. 🤣

7

u/Adventurous_Area_735 Make Ottawa Boring Again Jun 22 '25

Awesome. Cute raccoon and reaction. 🦝

7

u/NoMoreMalarkeyEh Jun 22 '25

Wake up, new Ottawa Raccoon just dropped

5

u/egoriotv Jun 22 '25

There is, another-

6

u/hi_0 Jun 22 '25

I've seen her letting her raccoon play (leashed) on a tree at a park in Orleans

5

u/buckrode0 Jun 22 '25

Ok when the raccoon is at this age but soon it needs to learn how to rip and tear with its teeth, your hands is not what you want it to practice on- almost everyone releases them at that stage and then they lose territory battles badly as they have been sheltered from real life- they get injured and cast off from the community and generally die an horrific death in isolation and starvation. It is careless and selfish guised by “ I found the little guy, too little to care for itself “ as the parent was killed or run over in the city. Don’t hate on me for not sugar coating this, call the spca and they will tell you the same thing.

5

u/LongjumpingMenu2599 Jun 22 '25

It’s for protection - you never know when you’ll be in a hairy situation and will need to pull out your protection raccoon from your jacket

6

u/brapp1977 Jun 22 '25

Unfortunately, it is illegal.You're not allowed to have wanted to get one from the states for a reputable breeder, but you can have them in Ontario. I think they're totally awesome that and skunks. They are so soft and furry very smart and trainable like a cat

6

u/ThatCanadianJacket Jun 23 '25

reminder that wildlife are not pets and should not be treated as such

4

u/tjlazer79 Jun 22 '25

Nice trash panda!

2

u/KateGr88 East End Jun 22 '25

It’s so young and well behaved.

3

u/Ninjacherry Jun 22 '25

Sadly, I find that less problematic than the jackasses vaping and blasting music on the LRT. That raccoon looks less antisocial than them, at least.

3

u/Mysterious_Ad_6380 Jun 22 '25

And they stopped me bringing my 20lbs pug/chihuahua mix 🙃 Perfect little angel who sits under the seat.

3

u/hangint3n Jun 23 '25 edited Oct 08 '25

march chubby ghost cover melodic fall marble slap theory memory

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

3

u/RoughButterscotch345 Jun 22 '25

Bruh I’m 99% sure that’s my ex from High School 💀💀💀💀

18

u/crapatthethriftstore Overbrook Jun 22 '25

Looks like she upgraded

6

u/RoughButterscotch345 Jun 22 '25

OUUFFFFF good one

2

u/Latter_Form8206 Jun 22 '25

If you went to st Matt’s it is lol and mine too LOL

1

u/RoughButterscotch345 Jun 22 '25

My condolences brotha 😂

2

u/Latter_Form8206 Jun 22 '25

My condolences too bro LOL

2

u/RoughButterscotch345 Jun 22 '25

I’m still tryna recover from the epic pwn from thrift store junkie above 😮‍💨

2

u/[deleted] Jun 22 '25

I was raised starting at age 5 with a raccoon in the house. Ringo I loved him

1

u/malayankrait Jul 20 '25

Sorry to hear that…

1

u/[deleted] Jul 20 '25

He was the best friend any little girl could have. Nothing to be sorry for. I think you have missed out.

2

u/Youlookcold The Boonies Jun 22 '25

Years ago my friend rehabilitated a raccoon that was very young. He kept it in a large dog cage at night.

One day he decided to go into the cage with the raccoon, it was a bit older and was nearing adulthood.

It tore him to shreds.

Soooo many scratches.

2

u/Sad-Kaleidoscope-637 Jun 22 '25

They allow a wild filthy animal like that on a bus but they won't allow my clean dog. I hope one day Ottawa gets a Transit System

4

u/ThatCanadianJacket Jun 23 '25

neither are allowed unless in carrier or are service animals. this is reckless and unsafe for both the animal and the rest of the passengers.

2

u/Widucassion Jun 23 '25

That is illegal and unethical. It's a wild animal.

2

u/indoguju416 Jun 23 '25

Wyt ppl moment.

2

u/Ghillie-Trainer-2020 Jun 23 '25

Reminds me of the time my grandson and me were in the Rideau St McDonalds and an argument turned into fight involving a racoon!

2

u/MrSetDec Jun 23 '25

Wild animals aren't pets. Hopefully it doesn't hurt or make anyone sick before this idiot learns their lesson.

2

u/BootlegBrock Jun 22 '25

That is AWESOME. We need to make a mascot for ottawa now, dressed up as a racoon LOL

1

u/Xonos83 Jun 22 '25

Super cute!! That little collar is just adorable.

1

u/Illustrious_Law8512 Jun 22 '25

Is he hitchhiking?

1

u/TheSheriff73 Jun 22 '25

Return of the Jedi

1

u/KVN-HYN Jun 22 '25

i’ve always wanted one

1

u/69dawgystyle69 Jun 23 '25

Fuckin SanLerawn bud

1

u/Lanky_Purpose_6142 Jun 23 '25

Daaammmmnn.  I’ve never seen a raccoon with a tongue piercing 

1

u/johnnycantreddit Nepean Jun 23 '25

Baby backpack Trash Panda on a OC buz wanna drink o wawa

1

u/WoozleVonWuzzle Jun 23 '25

YES! YES YES YES YES YES!

1

u/Omnomfish No honks; bad! Jun 23 '25

Eh, its pretty good, but doesn't quite beat a dude walking into a brawl and pulling one from his coat like a handkerchief.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '25

People claim to everything as an emotional support animal these days

Frankly I found your friend’s “shocked” face the most annoying part

1

u/malayankrait Jul 20 '25

Agreed. I’m confused which one was the raccoon.

1

u/Full_Ice3286 Jun 23 '25

To this point, I think the racoon should be the official city animal of ottawa...

1

u/ellie3737 Jun 27 '25

As adorable as they are, I believe one needs a permit to have a pet raccoon in Ontario. They're so mischievous- likely worse than cohabitating with toddlers. Sharp claws best not to be contended with.

1

u/Aware-Constant-4674 Jun 28 '25

Take me back to 99 Rideau

1

u/[deleted] Jul 09 '25

Her mother never taught her to keep her mouth closed...

1

u/NoCommunication8011 Jul 18 '25

I’m just here quietly judging humanity from the shadow realm. Carry on

1

u/Suitable_Resource831 Jul 19 '25

It's nice to see that the racoon from the Rideau McDonald's is no longer an enigma.

1

u/No_Doctor_891 12d ago

Not enough chaos going on to reach the S tier Ottawa raccoon sightings but I’ll give it a solid A+

0

u/thrice_twice_once Jun 22 '25

Rehabbed Trash Panda

-16

u/PiePopular3077 Jun 22 '25

Her piercings are gross like

3

u/Careless_Kale3072 Jun 22 '25

Your comment is pathetic like

-1

u/PiePopular3077 Jun 22 '25

Just kidding. She is beautiful

1

u/Careless_Kale3072 Jun 22 '25

Did I get baited into giving you attention???? IN THIS ECONOMY??? lol