A reclusive raccoon remains on the lam in Banff.
Parks Canada wildlife officials, having set a handful of live baited traps and viewed remote trail camera photos, has had no luck capturing the critter. The plan is to kill it because it’s non-native to Banff National Park.
Bill Hunt, resource conservation manager for Banff National Park, said the raccoon has been travelling around and it might be difficult to catch, if at all.
“If the animal is trap wary it could be very difficult,” he said.
Parks Canada made several attempts to find a home for the raccoon in the event it’s caught, but was unsuccessful. The province of Alberta does not allow rehabilitation or release of raccoons.
If caught, Parks wants to kill the raccoon because of potential significant effects a non-native species can have on the ecosystem, destroying natural food webs and processes. Raccoons also prey on birds’ nests and could get into any unsecured garbage.
“It’s like an invasive species,” said Hunt, noting it’s the same as non-native aquatic and plant species.
It’s hard to say how the raccoon made its way to Banff, but one theory is it hitchhiked a ride on a commercial transport truck or train.
The critter was first spotted in September in the Middle Springs neighbourhood on the south side of the Bow River, and has been seen a few more times since.
It was picked up on a remote trail camera in the Fenlands area on Sept. 19 just after 9 p.m.
Hunt said the most recent sighting was near the Cascade Ponds day use area on the north side of the Trans-Canada Highway.
“It’s moving around,” he said.
Alberta’s raccoon population has traditionally been found, for the most part, in the province’s southeast. However, in recent years raccoon territory has expanded to include central Alberta.
Like bears, raccoons spend warmer months fattening up for winter dormancy. Though not true hibernators, raccoons still become inactive enough to lose up to half their body weight.
Raccoons are omnivores that can easily adapt to whatever food sources are available.
In the wild, raccoons feed on fruits, nuts, berries and insects, and foods that can be found near water such as fish, birds, eggs and frogs.
But closer to human development, raccoons will eat whatever they can find, such as garbage, compost, bird seed or pet food.
Raccoons are nocturnal, though they may also roam in the day. They make their dens in culverts, attics, chimneys, outbuildings, tree hollows, barns, abandoned buildings or rock crevices.
