Can you help me solve a mystery?

@TheHorse (218927)

Walnut Creek, California

December 27, 2015 4:11pm CST

I'm reading a murder mystery called Plum Island by Nelson DeMille right now. But not that mystery. Earlier this morning, I said "What the heck?" as I heard critters scurrying about above my ceiling. I had heard the wings of mourning doves late yesterday, but this pitter patter was too big to be mourning doves. We have squirrels here, but it even sounded to big to be squirrels. But it was too "continuous" to be a stranded reindeer. I was at a loss. Then, a couple of house later, I heard a rolling noise, followed by a thump on my balcony. Home invasion robbers? Tentatively, I went over and found...what's shown in the picture. Some critters had stolen a neighbor's decorative pumpkin, gotten it up to the roof, taken a few bites, and lost it on my balcony. I waited patiently to catch the culprit in the act of retrieval, but none came. Woodrats? I don't think we have them here. Opossums? I haven't seen any here in years. Skunk? I have a sensitive nose. I'm going with raccoons. I haven't seen any in months, but they're all around this area. If this were your neck of the woods, what critter would it be?

15 people like this

16 responses

@Hatley (163776)

• Garden Grove, California

27 Dec 15

Can raccoons climb ? could be if they can thelove to steal food and we always had a row of swet corn for the raccoons so that they wou ld leave our garden alone.

2 people like this

@Marilynda1225 (82789)

• United States

27 Dec 15

@hatley yes raccoons are great climbers

@TheHorse (218927)

• Walnut Creek, California

28 Dec 15

I've seen them in our trees and on my balcony, so I think they could make it up to the roof. The pumpkin on my balcony hasn't moved. Maybe they fear my wrath.

@Angelee_27 (3460)

• United States

27 Dec 15

As I was reading your post I was thinking raccoons the entire time!

That would have been my guess if that happened to me.

2 people like this

@TheHorse (218927)

• Walnut Creek, California

27 Dec 15

Yep. That's all I can come up with. I've never seen one on the roof before, though!

@Angelee_27 (3460)

• United States

27 Dec 15

@TheHorse Me either, but I suppose it's possible for them to get up there somehow.

@yukimori (10145)

• United States

27 Dec 15

My vote was going to be for raccoons, too. We have some around here, but the ones who seem intent on stealing pumpkins are the javelina. They came by and ate two of ours that were sitting outside after Halloween.

1 person likes this

@TheHorse (218927)

• Walnut Creek, California

28 Dec 15

Javelina! Those are large rodents that are hunted like wild boar, right? I don't want them on my roof!

@yukimori (10145)

• United States

28 Dec 15

@TheHorse They're actually peccaries, not rodents. I've never heard of them going on rooftops, either.

@TheHorse (218927)

• Walnut Creek, California

28 Dec 15

@yukimori What's a peccary? Is that a kindom, phylum, class, order, family, genus or species, or something like that? I'm a Bear of Little Brain and Big Words bother me. OK, I found this on Wiki: "...of the family Tayassuidae (New World pigs)."

@LadyDuck (471459)

• Switzerland

28 Dec 15

Do you have ferrets in the area? When I hear critters scurrying above my ceiling, most of the times are those little critters.

1 person likes this

show previous comments

@LadyDuck (471459)

• Switzerland

29 Dec 15

@TheHorse Yes, people keep them as pets, it's not a good idea, they bite, they are small and steal everything they can grab.

1 person likes this

@TheHorse (218927)

• Walnut Creek, California

29 Dec 15

@LadyDuck I've never been tempted to own one. Here in the States, most of those who keep them as pets are usually seen as "odd."

1 person likes this

@TheHorse (218927)

• Walnut Creek, California

29 Dec 15

I've heard that people keep ferrets as pets. But I don't think we have them in the wild here.

1 person likes this

Show more comments

@amadeo (111938)

• United States

27 Dec 15

we mostly have squirrels in our attic at times.But no raccoon.

2 people like this

@TheHorse (218927)

• Walnut Creek, California

27 Dec 15

Are there raccoons in other places in New Hampshire? I assume they're everywhere. But I'm not sure.

@JudyEv (340216)

• Rockingham, Australia

27 Dec 15

We have possums and we saw one up a tree in our drive the other night. That's about the only possibility here.

1 person likes this

@TheHorse (218927)

• Walnut Creek, California

28 Dec 15

Up a tree. Hmm. So possum is still on the possible list.

1 person likes this

@TheHorse (218927)

• Walnut Creek, California

28 Dec 15

@JudyEv Do you have a picture? Ours are notoriously ugly!

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (340216)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Dec 15

@TheHorse Our possums look totally different to yours - much prettier!

1 person likes this

Show more comments

@Asylum (47893)

• Manchester, England

27 Dec 15

This is obviously either mutant spiders or a family of velociraptors waking up from a 75 million year sleep.

1 person likes this

@TheHorse (218927)

• Walnut Creek, California

28 Dec 15

That makes me feel a bit better. Raccoons just stare back at me when I try to shoo them away. Wait. Did you say raptors?

1 person likes this

@celticeagle (167015)

• Boise, Idaho

28 Dec 15

Do you get raccoons in your area? Ope. Ann had the same ideas. Some of them are pretty big. A family can be anywhere from the size of a cat to the size of medium sized dog. We've seen some big ones around here.

1 person likes this

@TheHorse (218927)

• Walnut Creek, California

28 Dec 15

Yep, we have raccoons around here.

@olivetree27 (495)

• Greece

8 Jan 16

I'd love to live in the same neighborhood. I don't mind having neighbors like raccoon, skunk and a deer. We only have mice and cockroaches here.

And I love to have a pumpkin as a decor. My mom would probably just cook it for dinner.

1 person likes this

show previous comments

@olivetree27 (495)

• Greece

8 Jan 16

@TheHorse We have but they don't show up often and we also have annoying earthworms. I was taking a shower the other day and I was so startled when I found out that there was an earthworm taking a shower with me.

Raccoons and squirrels are better if you ask me.

@TheHorse (218927)

• Walnut Creek, California

8 Jan 16

Do you have scorpions there? I only see them occasionally here, but they scare me for some reason.

1 person likes this

Show more comments

@Marilynda1225 (82789)

• United States

27 Dec 15

Could be raccoons. They are a big nuisance

1 person likes this

@TheHorse (218927)

• Walnut Creek, California

28 Dec 15

I'm gonna leave that pumpkin out there tonight and see if they go after it.

@boiboing (13153)

• Northampton, England

27 Dec 15

Any strange noises around here are usually our cats.

1 person likes this

@TheHorse (218927)

• Walnut Creek, California

28 Dec 15

I don't think cats eat pumpkins, though. Heh.

@PainsOnSlate (21852)

• Canada

28 Dec 15

We had racoons in an attic once, we put a radio up in the crawl space and ran it loudly daily (no one home, all at school or working) they left but when we stopped the radio noise they came back. We put a live trap up there and moved them one at a time to a new location miles away from our house... Good luck.

1 person likes this

@TheHorse (218927)

• Walnut Creek, California

28 Dec 15

I used to have woodrats in my ceiling at my old house. They were cute, but they pooped a lot.

1 person likes this

@PainsOnSlate (21852)

• Canada

28 Dec 15

@TheHorse I've never heard of a wood rat. I'll have to look it up - I did, bushy-tailed woodrat, packrat, or woodrat... looks like a rat to me

, we don't see rats in the burbs, just a lot of mice.(in the atic in the winter, we kill them with poison.)

@poehere (15123)

• French Polynesia

27 Dec 15

Got to be a raccoon to do this one. Maybe you have muskrats running around but they can't steal this and haul it up to your roof and then eat it.

1 person likes this

@TheHorse (218927)

• Walnut Creek, California

27 Dec 15

I've never heard of muskrats around here. Unless we know them by a different name. I'm sticking with raccoons. I'll leave the stolen property on my balcony and see if it moves.

1 person likes this

@TheHorse (218927)

• Walnut Creek, California

28 Dec 15

@poehere Oh dear! I don't want them eating all my speakers! I'm still going with raccoon as well.

1 person likes this

@poehere (15123)

• French Polynesia

27 Dec 15

@TheHorse I am joking about muskrats. They are some giant over sized rat that can take over your home and eat what ever they want. No I think it is also a raccoon that did this to you.

1 person likes this

Show more comments

Nanette Piotrowski

@nanette64 (20364)

• Fairfield, Texas

28 Dec 15

Yup, definitely raccoon's @The Horse . I can almost bet you they're up in the attic.

1 person likes this

@TheHorse (218927)

• Walnut Creek, California

28 Dec 15

I've seen them in the spaces beneath this building. I'm not sure if there's entry into the space between my ceiling and the roof or not!

Michael Liriano

@BACONSTRIPSXXX (14351)

• West Haven, Connecticut

27 Dec 15

Lol most likely a raccoon or squirel, i have been through this before when I had a pear tree in my backyard

1 person likes this

@TheHorse (218927)

• Walnut Creek, California

27 Dec 15

Did both squirrels and raccoons enjoy your pears?

Margaret Mwangi

@Missmwngi (12915)

• Nairobi, Kenya

27 Dec 15

Check if the size of the bite can give you a clue

1 person likes this

@TheHorse (218927)

• Walnut Creek, California

27 Dec 15

That little pumpkin is about 4" across. What do you think?