Your pond must have steep sides so the raccoon couldn't climb out. Maybe you will catch a deer or maybe even a toddler. Be careful around the pond yourself. Your karma might catch up with you.

Uh Oh! now you've gone and done it!! Ruffled someones feathers because you are daring to be grateful that you are rid of at least one pest. How someone can justify comparing a child to a raccoon, I just don't know. I built very steep sides to my pond for the purpose of keeping out unwanted critters. But when the time comes that I have small children that would be accessible to my pond I will child proof it. Glenda

LOL! I thought it was the raccoon's bad karma that got him back for eating my fish! My sides are not that steep, my pond is not that deep(20" at the most) and a good part of the center is taken up with large stepping stones. Actually hoping to double the size and add more depth next summer... I didn't build it. It was here when I moved in. Now that I'm totally addicted to it...it needs to be BIGGER!!!! If it was deeper it would be easier for my fish to escape the predators in my woodland setting.

Gosh, Glenda, I think that if a raccoon couldn't get out of the pond a toddler would have even less of a chance. Maybe it is good advice to be aware of that problem. Personaly, I love the antics of the raccoons as long as they are well behaved around my pond. I enforce the rules with a well aimed garden hose.
I fully understand the need to make the pond larger. DH is going to be very surprised next summer. Sandy

Here is the point I was trying to make. Gpackers' pond is designed to drown animals that get into it, whether they be raccoons, deer, or small humans. It would drown the raccoon that supposedly ate the fish, or any other raccoon that fell in. If fact there is no way of knowing if the drowned raccoon was the one that ate the fish or not. So the source of gpackers ebullience is the death of a raccoon whose crime seems to be membership in the same species as the one presumed to be responsible for the death of some fish. Retribution is a tricky thing.

I might also point out that the raccoons lived there before gpacker and the fish. The raccoon was doing what it does to survive. The raccoon meant no malice toward gpacker or the fish, it was just hungry. In fact it might have been grateful to gpacker for providing a pond full of tasty slow moving fish.

I guess the thing that annoyed me was the claim of retribution, and the "good riddance". It is one thing to accidentally kill a raccoon, it is quite another to take pleasure in the death.

I think I should stop here.

I haven't checked this forum in over a month and SOME of the answers on this post are the main reason. I GOT SICK OF YOU WACKOS THAT ATTACK EVERY POSTER FOR TRYING TO PROTECT THEIR FISH. THERE SHOULD BE A SPECIAL FORUM JUST FOR YOU. MAYBE NAME IT WACKED OUT ENVIORNMENTALIST FREE FOR ALL.
THIS TIME I DOUBT I WILL RETURN.

Bugsb, it sounds like you disagree with someone's ideas. If it is me you disagree with, I would like to hear your views. Calling someone a WACKO is a personal attack, and that is a little different from disagreeing with someone, or having a problem with their actions. You just might have to accept that some people have views that don't agree with yours.

I'll give you my views larryl.

You said "Maybe you will catch a deer or maybe even a toddler"
I doubt very seriously a toddler would ever be left alone around a pond much less just outside alone.

You said "Gpackers' pond is designed to drown animals that get into it"
Some ponds (like mine and probably gpackers) are designed to keep animals OUT of the pond, not to trap them. We dont spend a lot of money on our fish just to feed the wildlife a gourmet meal.

I doubt very seriously gpacker took pleasure in the death of the raccoon. Just grateful it will no longer be dining in the pond.

You have a right to your opinion just like everyone else. You do not have the right to be mean because they are glad the threat is no longer there. Gpacker did NOT intentionaly kill the raccoon. Do you know how many animals are pulled out of peoples swimming pools every spring when it's time to start cleaning it for summer? Might as well tell pool owners their pool is designed to drown animals that get into it.

thank you Pond Dragon.

I intended no malice with my comments, and I apologize to any that were offended. I intended my remarks to be pointed, but I did not intend them to be mean.

My comment about deer and toddlers wasn't intended to say raccoons, deer, and toddlers were of equal importance. I was simply pointing out that a steep sided pond was indiscriminate and that it could be a deer or toddler next time. I will stand by this statement.

As for gpacker taking pleasure in the accidental death of a raccoon, that is the way it sounded to me. It is the use of the word "retribution" and also "good riddance" gave me the distinct impression that the outcome was at least satisfactory to gpacker. You are correct that that particular raccoon will no longer be dining in the pond, but you are naive if you think there will not be other raccoons at the pond. Would you have gpacker kill all the raccoons that come to the pond?

I have had many animals fall into my pond, including at least three deer, one turkey, and a house cat. I am grateful that all were able to escape unharmed with only a temporary loss of dignity. I did find a dead alligator lizard once, and I added a lizard escape ramp afterwards.

I don't condemn people who are unfortunate enough to have accidentally killed animals in their ponds, and I don't think any of my statements have indicated that I do. With a little care it might be possible to prevent some of this.

Finally, I really do not think the accidental killing of that raccoon served any purpose and I think regrets are more appropriate than "retribution" or "good riddance". Killing a raccoon, accidentally or otherwise, will not bring back lost fish, nor will it provide much protection to the fish that remain. I sympathize with all who have lost fish to predators, but killing predators is not a very effective solution to the problem.

Thank you, Larry.

Brenda

Bugsb, I have missed you for the last month. As you and I have the same ideas. We built our pond so that we can enjoy the fish an the critters that belong in a pond. We have spent good money to achieve this and don't take pleasure in seeing it feed other wildlife. Apparently some enjoy the wildlife more and don't care that they put innocent fish there for the explicit purpose of feeding the wildlife. They don't care or realize that they have a responsibility to the fish also. But everyone is entitled to their preferences, i guess. I hope you won't let the comments of some keep you away. Just ignore those comments that you don't agree with and keep us that care informed with the goings on in your pond. Glenda

Good grief larryl. If gpacker had shot and killed the raccoon that would be a different story. That's not what happened. Maybe the raccoon was sick, injured, or it's possible it died of old age and simply fell in the pond.

You asked "Would you have gpacker kill all the raccoons that come to the pond?" gpacker did not kill the raccoon.

gpackers pond is not deep. 20" at the most and it has stepping stones in the center. That makes me think maybe something was wrong with the raccoon to start with. Adult raccoons may be anywhere from 24 to 40 inches in length. It could have easily kept it's head above the water especially if it climbed on one of the rocks in the center of the pond.

My pond is 5'plus at the deepest. I have not lost any fish to wildlife yet nor have I pulled any drowned animal from my pond. Maybe I have smarter animals in my area :P

I do have a 5' chain link fence around my pond that was put there when my first grandchild began walking. I'm sure most ponders do take extra precautions when there is a risk of small children being near the pond. But that would not keep most animals out if they really want in there. I know animals are coming in because something keeps eating some of my plants in both my waterfalls and I have seen claw marks on some algae covered stones in the falls.

I live by a creek and woods and love to watch wildlife as much as the next person. You can't expect everyone to share the same passion and love every creature.

We've never had a raccoon in our pond (although I know they're around and it's just a matter of time), but I fully understand the frustration over losing fish. The only "critter" we've had experience with is a Great Blue Heron which is just as vilified, if not more so, by people on this site. While we were not happy losing fish, esp. my favorite one, we understood the heron was only doing what came naturally, albeit a little too well! If I were him I'd be doing the same thing. Why not stop for breakfast where it's most convenient? I would not harm the heron even if it wasn't illegal because as someone said, that's not going to solve the problem. There will be more where he came from. A net served our purpose and he hasn't taken any more fish.

I personally would be more upset if anything happened to my dog, so we built our pond without steep dropoffs for that reason. At least if my dog fell in the pond which he's almost done many times, I know with the elevated sides he's able to get out. If that means making it easier for other critters then I guess that's the price to pay. But I'm not sure that would prevent a child from drowning. We should never assume anything. Small children are fascinated by ponds and the wildlife they attract. Every ponder should treat their pond as an inground pool and use just as much precaution.

I will agree personal attacks are seldom warranted, but we humans being the opinionated sort that we are, can't help ourselves. C'est la vie. Let it roll off your back. With that thought, I will say have a great week everyone. It's almost Friday. ;o)

PLEASE EVERYONE! Let's just enjoy our ponds AND nature. No need to throw rocks at each other. I see Larry's point that the original poster might have said some words that seem a little harsh toward the poor racoon, for whatever reason it died. I also see the point that these critters can destroy a peaceful pond. The racoons (and other critters) are only trying to eat and live like US! That's all. They don't walk up to a pond and think "Let's make this homeowner really mad!!" Let's all try to live happily together and not bash. Thanks.

Look folks, killing things everyone agrees is usually not good. Killing pests (rats, cockroaches, ...) is a necessity. If the stupid coon drowned in your pond, great. Using the 12 gauge on him might be a bit tougher. Just because I'm a member of PETA (People for Eating Tasty Animals) doesn't mean I condone random animal killing.

Much as I would like to get involved in this to kill, or not to kill conversation, I won't.
But I will say that this concept that a sloping pond is easier to get out of than one with vertical sides is rubbish.
I have two ponds in my system, Upper and lower, one has a liner and has vertical sides and the other is a cement pond that has sloping sides, and I can tell you that the cement pond with sloping sides is much harder to get out of than the liner pond with vertical sides. In the liner pond I can walk right over to the edge and step out, but if I try to walk towards the edges of the sloping cement pond I will slip on the algae that grows on the sides and end up falling over and sliding back down into the deep part. It takes a some very carefully placed steps to get out of the sloping pond.
Assuming both ponds were of equal depth and the bottoms were bare and free of rocks a child would be far more likely to drown in a pond with sloping sides than a pond with vertical edges because they would keep falling and sliding back into the deeper part.
I'm sure a healthy raccoon would have no problem getting out of either, they are strong swimmers.
Swimming Raccons

Pikeco and bugsby, I don't know what posts you're reading because it doesn't seem to be the same thing I'm reading. NO where do I see the extreme comments that you are responding to. how can you possibly extract the thought that just because someone doesn't want to see the racoon die that they in turn don't care about their fish or to call them a whacko for loving other living creatures as well....yikes!! and bugsby, this isn't the first time you have name called..what's up with that? I know everyone can have a different perception of the same comment but geez this is getting harsh.