Central Park may have its coyote (RIP). The Bronx may have its deer (RIP). And Williamsburg may have its hipsters (RIP too?). Curbed can report, however, that the maligned Southern Front of the North-South Brooklyn Civil War has raccoons. So many raccoons are running the streets of Park Slope, in fact, that on some nights you can see them on sidewalks or squatting on stoops, especially near Prospect Park. See those eyes shining in the trees? It's a raccoon. One Prospect Park West veterinarian is so afraid of a visiting Pug ending up on the losing end of dog-raccoon combat that he's trying to trap them and drive them to the burbs. Sure enough, it turns out that New York City has the state's most dense concentration of raccoons. (Who knew?) Of course, no sooner do you get excited about the Brooklyn raccoons, than someone comes along and rains on your parade with stories about rabid raccoons. We still like them better than the usual wildlife--pigeons, squirrels, rats, etc.
· Year's 1st Rabies Found in S.I. Raccoons [NYDN]
[Photo of genuine Brooklyn raccoon courtesy of Finster on Flickr]