Mystery of the racoon found dead in Ireland

North American creature took cross-country trip in days before car smash

LOCALS have been left scratching their heads after the first sighting of a racoon was recorded in a remote part of the country.

The North American creature was discovered dead in the middle of the Burren in Co Clare last week.

The adult female had undertaken a massive, cross-country journey in the days before its death.

The racoon, the first recorded in the wild in Clare, was found dead on

Main Street in Ennistymon last Tuesday after being hit by a car. The animal was first sighted close to Lahinch Golf Course on September 11 and is thought to have undertaken an arduous trek across rugged local landscape in the days before its death.

Clare dog warden Frankie Coote said he received a number of reports of an unusual animal in the Lahinch and Liscannor area on September 11 and 12.

He added: “I was aware of the presence of the racoon for a week before it was killed.

“A few people had been

We’ve had some strange animals but never a racoon FRANKIE COOTE

CO CLARE YESTERDAY

in touch but one particular woman, who had worked with animals in the past, was adamant it was a racoon.

“I assumed that it was probably a badger or a pine marten, but this woman knew her facts.

“She met her [the racoon] on the Liscannor Road just outside Lahinch and she was adamant that it was a racoon.

“It was certainly moving, there is no forestry and no woods in that area, which is where a racoon would want to be, and the animal was probably staying close to the river [Inagh River].

“Racoons are similar in ways to our own native badger. They might take chickens or eggs but would not be a danger to people unless they were cornered, in the same way as a badger. They are an invasive species and they have no natural predators in this country.

“We’ve had some strange animals in Clare – giraffes, snakes and very unusual things like that, but never a racoon.”

Native to North America, racoons are considered invasive species and it is illegal to release them into the wild in Ireland.

The Moher Hill Open Farm, located close to the Cliffs of Moher, has confirmed all three of its resident racoons are present and accounted for.

A spokesperson from the pet farm said they have been inundated with messages about the racoon in recent days.