A Vancouver resident captured a large, active group of raccoons on video in the Kitsilano neighbourhood this week.
On Jan. 27 just after midnight, Pasha Mykhaylov spotted the ring-tailed critters outside of her residence near West 5th Ave and Maple St.
"[I] wasn't able to get closer as I was inside," she told Vancouver Is Awesome.
The Vancouverite said he has a large fir tree outside of her home and that a family of raccoons nest their young there each year. However, he's never seen such a large group before.
"They were walking down the street and intermittently nipping each other and yelping," he explained, adding that they ran off towards 4th Ave after that.
Mykhaylov shared a video of the playful posse gathered in the middle of a road under the glow of the street lights. The animated animals then run between some parked vehicles on the other side of the street.
In her post, the local woman noted that a group of raccoons is called a "nursery."
According to Critter Clean Out, raccoons are usually more inclined to respect their elders so the fights are usually between younger raccoons for dominance. Fighting is more common during mating season when males venture outside their territory and run into other males doing the same.
Not exactly monogamous, male raccoons will attempt to mate with multiple partners each season whereas the female will mate with only one male, avoiding all others afterwards. Mating occurs during the winter months but can continue until June.
With files from Cameron Thomson.
