It’s October… Do You Know Who’s Haunting Your Backyard?

I love the nightlife in my neighborhood, by which I mean the wildlife that comes out at night. When I share photos and videos from my trail camera, people are often surprised at the number of cute creatures that visit my yard. They think these sightings are unusual. I always tell them, “The animals are at your house, too! Put a camera out, and you’ll see them. “

But some people would rather not know what haunts their property after dark, and I can understand that. After all, it’s October, the season when spirits and other spooky specimens like to stop by, so you may see more than frisky foxes and rambunctious raccoons lurking in the night. In fact, I’ve already spotted one creepy critter hanging out in my backyard. Luckily, I was able to capture some photos of him with our more adorable nighttime visitors.

This gray fox was happy to welcome a new neighbor to the yard…

…but then things escalated a bit.

Video:

This raccoon was concerned about the new visitor.

Don’t you hate it when you try to help, but end up making things worse, and then worry there might have been witnesses?

Video:

This little skunk was very curious about the new guy…

…and also maybe a wee bit scared of him.

Eventually, all the animals decided Mr. Bones was harmless and went about their business wandering the night…

…although the fox continued to try to eat him once in a while.

***

The wildlife in our yard are just that– wild! We have a large property with lots of trees, open space, and old sheds that provide convenient burrows for animals. We keep bowls of fresh water available for them and do not use any poisons or pesticides on our property, so they have a good variety of natural food sources such as plants, insects, and rodents, but we do not put out food for them. I did nothing to Mr. Bones to make him appetizing to to the fox or anyone else. I just set him outside and aimed my camera at him. Nature took care of the rest. Happy October!