this post was submitted on 27 Feb 2025
221 points (99.1% liked)

[Locked] YUROP

2530 readers
2 users here now

A laid back community for good news, pictures and general discussions among people living in Europe.

Topics that should not be discussed here:

Other casual communities:

Language communities

Cities

Countries

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
221
submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by misk@sopuli.xyz to c/yurop@lemm.ee
 
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Vinny_93@lemmy.world 60 points 2 years ago (3 children)

Correlation map with AfD votes next?

[–] kewko@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 years ago

Nazicoons are plotting

[–] skillissuer@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

maybe it's just inverse population density map

[–] CyberEgg@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 2 years ago

Inverse population density maps correlate often with how well the AfD performs in elections and polls.

[–] protist@mander.xyz 45 points 2 years ago
[–] ShinkanTrain@lemmy.ml 34 points 2 years ago
[–] expatriado@lemmy.world 21 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

Europe brings rats to invade de sewers, America counterattacks by sending trash pandas

[–] Goldholz@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 2 years ago

So they dug out the Klapstuhl? (Only germans understand this reference)

[–] CyberEgg@discuss.tchncs.de 15 points 2 years ago

I thought that this number seemed not so big, but that my perception might be skewed due to the chosen scale and an inability to imagine an process how big the depicted areas are, so I looked up the development of raccoon population in Germany (I read the german Wikipedia).

So, first of all, one of the major relevant incidents was pure greed. A poultry breeder released a couple of raccoons into the wild so that they would populate the area and pelt prices could go down because expensive imports would become unnecessary. I hate humans, especially the rich ones.

Second, according to a publication from 2011, at that time the population of raccoons in Germany size was estimated to be around half a million individuals and that each year, 300k animals would have to be killed if the population sized was to be reduced with a lasting effect. Although, that might not be enough, as research shows, after a 2007 distemper epidemic killed 80% of the female raccoon population in Müritz National Park, the year after more raccoons were counted than before the outbreak.

Third, we need the wolf back. As shown by the example before, raccoon populations are extremely resilient and also in north american raccoon populations hunting shows to be not only not a major cause of death, it was insignificant. In Germany, the lack of natural predators like the wolf is benefitting the expansion of some invasive species like raccoons, american minks or raccoon dogs (who are not raccoons) and also has an influence of growing populations of native species into overpopulations. Hunting and roadkill incidents alone shows to be not effective enough (at least in areas that are not destroyed habitats due to human expansion).

[–] Asidonhopo@lemmy.world 11 points 2 years ago (2 children)

I'm puzzled by how a hectare can be determined to have 0.1 raccoons in it, like is it part of a 10 hectare region with a single 'coon or is the animal migratory and spends a tenth of its time in that particular hectare?

Anyhow raccoons are great when they're screaming bloody murder at each other at night, and also when they amble up to you curiously during the day. Sorry they are competing with Germany's, what, native badger population? What is the raccoon niche equivalent over there

[–] DarkCloud@lemmy.world 13 points 2 years ago

You mean, is the racoon transtemporal or transdimensional...

...i put it to you that there's only ever been a single racoon in Germany, it's just very fast.

[–] troyunrau@lemmy.ca 6 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Probably the original data was per sqkm.

[–] Asidonhopo@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago

Oh okay yeah that makes sense

[–] federalreverse@feddit.org 10 points 2 years ago (2 children)

So I live in one of the barely-still-gray areas from 2020. I.e. we're obviously colonized by now. And the neighbors now refuse to clean up the garage because they might disturb the gworing family of raccoons living within. And we obviously can't force them to do anything.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] aeronmelon@lemmy.world 9 points 2 years ago

Müllpandablitz

[–] Raiderkev@lemmy.world 9 points 2 years ago

TIL. I was confused because I thought raccoons were an American thing. It turns out the Nazis imported them for furs, and some escaped. Now Germany has a bunch of Raccoons.

[–] a4ng3l@lemmy.world 8 points 2 years ago

The fuckers reached Belgium by 2023… Those pests are everywhere and wrecking havoc both in suburbs and rural areas.

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 6 points 2 years ago

The black spaces on the 2020 map kinda look like a rabbit. Geez, you'd think they'd invade in a pattern that resembles a raccoon. SMH

[–] zephorah@lemm.ee 5 points 2 years ago (2 children)

It’s always fascinating to learn of the little differences. Lack of peanut butter. And, apparently, a lack of trash pandas patrolling your trash bins, until now.

[–] lurch@sh.itjust.works 6 points 2 years ago (4 children)

I'm a bit confused. Every German supermarket has peanut butter. Most multiple kinds, like with or without crunch, certified organic, with cottonseed oil, etc.. Did you have a different experience?

[–] EarMaster@lemmy.world 4 points 2 years ago

It is available, but unlike in the US it is not something you would find in almost every household. And I would bet you it would be easier to find an individual who hasn't tried peanut butter even once than finding someone who has.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] CyberEgg@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 2 years ago

What are you talking about, peanut butter is available everywhere in Germany.

[–] Dyskolos@lemmy.zip 3 points 2 years ago (3 children)

Yesssss. Invade us harder! Racoons for everyone! I love those cute Lil trashpandas 😍

[–] jlh@lemmy.jlh.name 14 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Procyon lotor are only native to North America and are listed as an invasive species in the EU.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raccoon#Distribution_in_Germany

[–] AllNewTypeFace@leminal.space 12 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Everybody loves raccoons, the animal embodiment of one’s indomitable, anarchic trash-goblin spirit!

(5 seconds later) We regret to inform you that the presence of raccoons in Europe is a legacy of Hitler

[–] CyberEgg@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

That might not be as far from the truth as you might think. In 1945, a few individuals escaped a pelt farm (fuck humans) near Berlin due to an unknown cause and some hypothesize a bomb dropped during an air raid could have destroyed an enclosure.

[–] AllNewTypeFace@leminal.space 2 points 2 years ago

IIRC, encouraging raccoon farming was a specific NSDAP policy, and may have started in the Nazi era.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] tastetheplague@sh.itjust.works 7 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Speaking as an American, you won't be saying that once they invade your attic. Trust me, you do not want this.

[–] P00ptart@lemmy.world 4 points 2 years ago (2 children)

There's a joke there about German attics, but I'm not a good enough comedian to make that without it being horribly offensive... So I won't.

[–] naeap@sopuli.xyz 2 points 2 years ago

Pretty sure I don't know about that
Is it in the same kind as with Austrian cellars?

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Dyskolos@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 years ago

Couldn't be mad at them for trying, can't lie here :)

[–] pimento64@sopuli.xyz 7 points 2 years ago (6 children)

They are cute, but they're just bloodthisty toddler-sized hobos. They prey on small dogs and cats or fight them for territory, they eat chickens, they destroy fucking everything, and they can carry and spread rabies. They will rip up plants, tear siding off your house, pull up paving stones, and even break windows. Just imagine a hostile drifter on your property trying to fuck it up as hard as possible out of spite for you, and that's about right.

[–] A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world 4 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Man when my first kid was little those fuckers would get into our trash all the time. You know how much fun it is cleaning ripped-up dirty diapers off your front yard?

Anyway I whipped up some pepper spray and poured it all over the can. They never came back. Worked a lot better than shooting them with bb guns.

[–] Dyskolos@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Yuk, i would find the diapers disgusting even before they're in the trash :-) They couldn't reach our trash, so that would not be a problem. Also between our current situation of population (they live here? at all? WOW!) and yours are many decades. So i might enjoy the way towards your situation :)

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (5 replies)
[–] rustyfish@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Fuckers do a better job than Russia.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago

I'm on team raccoon here I don't see the problem

[–] Kissaki@feddit.org 2 points 1 year ago
load more comments
view more: next ›