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THE NEIGHBORHOOD — Years ago, I lived in a home in Orem that was surrounded by orchards. The place served as an oasis for all the wildlife displaced by housing developments in the area, so it wasn't unusual to see foxes, pheasants, deer and other animals hanging out among the apple trees.
But there was one species that got a little too comfortable for my liking. It started with a strange cooing sound we'd hear echoing through our house late at night. At first, we assumed the place was haunted. As more squeaks and squeals began to accompany the cooing, we realized there must be some animals living in our chimney.
I climbed onto the roof and shined a flashlight down the chimney. A big momma raccoon hissed back up at me, surrounded by what looked like 570 babies. It was such a jarring sight that I nearly toppled off the roof.
So my heart goes out to the fellow in this video:
As the guy was headed to work on Halloween morning, as he notes in the caption, he "had a little surprise for the morning. ... It scared the living mess out of me, and I may have or may not have screamed just a little bit."
Was the "trash panda" simply waiting to be freed from the can? That seems like a pretty generous interpretation of the events. Seems to me like the critter was planning an ambush.
