Urban Wildlife - this coon

Any experts out there?
I've rarely seen a raccoon out and about in the middle of the day, but this guy is the exception. He doesn't bother me particularly, but the white eyes make me wonder if the thing is partially blind. Maybe he has cataracts? (what you see in the pic is not a reflection of the flash or anything). Aren't the eyes unusual?
He ( I guess it is a he) seems to move more slow than others around the 'hood over the years, and seems to keep his nose to the ground - I'm prone to yell at him - sometimes I get a long stick and pound the ground behind him - to get him move 'in on, but he rarely gets into a full run.

Maybe he's just become 'naturalized' to the urban landscape, as if there aren't any natural predators around. there certainly aren't any dogs, just cats.

Any thoughts? I don't think he has rabies, judging from his behavior. I just thought that these critters are basically nocturnal. BTW, best guess is that he is moving toward the neighbors backyard shed to hole up under there for the day, that seems to be the MO. He's after food, obviously. I keep the outside feeding secure, but the ndighbors? Who knows.

Maybe he is an old-timer, but how to judge that? He isn't particularly big, compared to those stories where a very large coon takes on the pack of hunting dogs, I dunno.

 

It's either blind or has severe cataracts. That's why it is more active in the daytime than others. There are studies out there on them.

Here is a cool story:
The Link

 

Distemper can also cause blindness in raccoOns and cause them to be out in the daytime. If he otherwise acting sick or disoriented you might want to call your local Wildlife Rescue group for more information or PM me ( I'm a licensed wildlife rehabilitator in Austin ) But from what it sounds like, he's just an old guy out farting around in the daytime instead of at night, either that or he had distemper at one time that affected his eyesight.

 

A licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator? I wasn't aware there even was such a thing. Where would one go to learn more about this? I don't want to ask you to type everything you know.

My son has talked for a long time about being a marine biologist. I'd like him to look at lots of things that might make him a happy man. He actually now hunts a bit, but I had asked him why he didn't seem all that keen on hunting with me (I was only doing it to have an activity with him) and he explained that he wasn't all that keen on "going out into nature and shooting at it". Who knows where his heart will end up.

 

Nick, assuming you're in Texas, you can go to the Texas Parks & Wildlife website and click on "Hunting & Wildlife" and then navigate to the rehabilitation area. You can also check out the National Wildlife Rehabilitation Association here:
The Link

 

My mom just had a visit from a coon a couple weeks ago during the day. It basically just hung out on the front porch, back yard, roof, etc scaring my mom's students (piano teacher). She called a pest control company who sent some guys out to trap him. He was exhibiting some of the same symptoms that were described in the original post. The diagnosis- distemper.

 

Thanks.

 

One other question for LadyHorn. You can pm if you don't want to start a different discussion on this thread.

Where do wildlife rehabilitators stand on hunting? Is there a consensus?

 

That is what I expected. Thanks for your time.

 

12', 600 lb gator "rescued" from Richmond golf course yesterday
The blonde is the gator wrangler




Below is same wrangler with 12', 800-pounder from Sugarland -- rescued last weekend
This one is 50 years old -- he was in a parking lot
Wrangler is hired as contractor by TPW, and takes them to a gator farm in El Campo
In real life, she works as a dental hygienist