River Raccoon

River Raccoon swims hard for shore ~ LBL area

A River Raccoon is not only hard to spot, it (or they) are extra hard to photograph. I was walking the banks of the Cumberland River, (Barkley Lake) in the Land Between the Lakes area and I spotted this raccoon, swimming briskly for shore. With my own naked eye, I could not tell just what animal this was in the water.

Blurry Shots — but I got Them!

These shots are blurry. They are not the best; but I did get them. These shots are from a fairly long distance. I just happened to have my Nikon 2,000 super zoom (secret weapon) camera with me. I was actually bird hunting near the water’s edge, hoping to see a crane spear a fish. In the distance I could see something breaking top water several hundred yards away. With my own eye I could not see the animal. At first I thought it was some sort of waterfowl. That is how far away this shot was from me. I actually did not know for sure what animal (or bird) it was until I got the camera home and downloaded the shots.

Rare Raccoon photos

In checking for swimming raccoon shots, there are not many to be had. I wish I could have gotten more shots as the Nikon was just starting to find its range. However, the animal was so far away and making such swift progress I just could not keep it in focus for long. And as I was getting ready for my next frame of shots, the raccoon hit the bank and was gone.

Long gone raccoon

I stood at the edge of the bank where I was and scoured the opposite bank for the animal (I still was not sure what it was at that time) and I saw nothing else. My plan now is to get to that spot at the Cumberland River at that time of the late afternoon (early evening) and try my luck again. In the past few days I actually have gotten a couple of different shots of raccoons and up until now, my luck on shooting the ringtails has been on the bad side.

Photos and story by David R. Ross — LBLUS.com

https://lblus.com/

https://www.blogto.com/city/2020/10/racoons-swimming-toronto-river-fish/

Raccoon swims the river in LBL South. — Photo by David R. Ross
Raccoon heads to shore after a brisk swim! — Photo by David R. Ross
Blurry, but I got the action shot of this swimming raccoon. — Photo by David R. Ross

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