Oddity

I want to take a trip back to the trap line for this blog post; actually not my trap line, but my nephew’s.  A few weeks ago I was out west for a weekend and had a little time to check out some of the fur my nephew had caught this trapping season, his first.  What he really wanted to show off was one of the raccoons he trapped, something rather unusual.

There are several hundred thousand raccoons taken in Nebraska each fall and winter (Fur Harvest Survey).  I do not know how often odd-colored individuals are observed.  The “cinnamon”-colored raccoon my nephew trapped is the first one like that I have seen personally.  My nephew has only trapped a handful of raccoons and I am betting he already has caught one of the rarest ones he is ever going to see.  It is destined either for the tanner or taxidermist, because of its rarity that was a trophy catch.

Spend enough time on the water or in the field and you will see some unusual things, in some cases unusually-colored individuals or unusual behavior.  There is no predicting those things; all I know is the more time you spend hunting, fishing and trapping the more of those things you will experience.  Besides the successes, those encounters and experiences are what makes the time in the field and on the water so memorable.  Those are some of the stories that will be told over and over–“Remember when you caught that red ‘coon?”