evacuation, the fourth

The deportation program is up and running again today. At 9 a.m. we got the big enchilada, the huge groundhog mom who would stand on the rock pile and guard the four pups while they browsed. Finally, an apple slice she couldn't resist. She bared her teeth at me. Lunged at the corners of the cage. Laid on her back and tried to chew out. I was half scared for a few moments. In her eyes shame, remorse, regret, but not resignation. At Mascot she was still fighting when I pulled up the trap door an inch and she pushed it far enough to get out and leap into the Mill Stream and paddle away. She'll find the other guys. Now, the runt of the bunch remains to catch. It was watching some of mom's ordeal.

evacuation, the third

Here's the third volunteer, ready to make a deal. But he's now trauma-free, free to associate with his two siblings already deported to Mascot at exactly the same spot. One monster mom and one pup to go!

evacuation one

Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. Of the five critters I've seen behind the barn, this is the first pup to be caught. It's parent is at least three times as big. A site says: Today, there are more groundhogs, red fox, gray fox, opossum and raccoon in the United States than at any previous time in U.S. history.

I did not water board, interrogate,terrorize, or threaten in any way. I did not follow the advice of the locals who told me to drown. I moved this guy to the township line and released him in a creek bank, far from any house.