Holy crap….skinning a raccoon in hyper speed! I actually passed several roadkill raccoons over the past few days. I’m a competitive cyclist….so I train A LOT throughout the week….and therefore wander around on roads miles and miles outside of the city. I see a lot of roadkill, but I never know how fresh something has to be for me to pick it up. A few hours? A day? A few days?? Also, I realized that if I’m ever going to pick up one of these raccoons while riding, I’ll have to at least pack some plastic bags in my jersey pocket, and some twine or something to strap it to myself (because those three little pockets on my back aren’t going to cut it.) Anyway, your video did indeed inspire me!
ssgovoni- It all depends on the weather. Let your nose tell you if it is something you can eat, but even if it stinks it might still be good for skinning. A good test of freshness is to see if the hair pulls easily out of the belly. If it does, the animal has started to decompose and won’t make good eating or a good hide. Also It seems that the eyes get pecked out first. If the eyes are in good shape, that’s a good sign.
You uncivilized savage you! nice job. I love the video! Long live the raccoon people!
ssgovoni,
I concur with Penny. Also check out the discussion about roadkill aging over at rewild.info:
Holy crap….skinning a raccoon in hyper speed! I actually passed several roadkill raccoons over the past few days. I’m a competitive cyclist….so I train A LOT throughout the week….and therefore wander around on roads miles and miles outside of the city. I see a lot of roadkill, but I never know how fresh something has to be for me to pick it up. A few hours? A day? A few days?? Also, I realized that if I’m ever going to pick up one of these raccoons while riding, I’ll have to at least pack some plastic bags in my jersey pocket, and some twine or something to strap it to myself (because those three little pockets on my back aren’t going to cut it.) Anyway, your video did indeed inspire me!
ssgovoni- It all depends on the weather. Let your nose tell you if it is something you can eat, but even if it stinks it might still be good for skinning. A good test of freshness is to see if the hair pulls easily out of the belly. If it does, the animal has started to decompose and won’t make good eating or a good hide. Also It seems that the eyes get pecked out first. If the eyes are in good shape, that’s a good sign.
You uncivilized savage you! nice job. I love the video! Long live the raccoon people!
ssgovoni,
I concur with Penny. Also check out the discussion about roadkill aging over at rewild.info:
http://www.rewild.info/conversations/index.php?topic=423.0
Raccoonpeople,
Thanks for the props (and the help)!