I ventured out this evening to take this photo in the Fort Worth Water Gardens located in the down town area. This place is usually jam packed with people, and their cameras, at all hours of the day. I knew coming here at 1AM would secure me some privacy. In the past, this was the place where some of the homeless would gather and call it a night, each person making claim to their own section to rest. You’d catch glimpses of cigarette embers from a distance as you’d walk by, with whispers of a community most people were unfamiliar with. There were no traces of people sleeping tonight, but new activity was occurring without me even being aware.

I’ve studied a bit about raccoon wildlife in the past and read upon raccoons coming into the city. There is no escaping the fact that these animals need water to survive. What better place to find it than the Fort Worth Water Gardens. It was drizzling this late evening. The rain didn’t bother me at all as I was well prepared for showers. I was in the area shooting some exposures of the pool in the water gardens. It was a ho hum evening with very little activity.

When you’re out taking photos this late at night the streets can be very quiet; so quiet that you start to hear things you’ve never heard before. When I heard the trees rustling, I imagined there were birds or squirrels doing their business. I never imagined I would find what peeked out at me.

This little fellow was making unusual noises, and at first, I thought it was a cat in a tree. But when I triggered my flash, I could tell after reviewing the photo that it was not a feline at all.

A family of six raccoons emerged from crevices in the rock walls, all in a single file line. I do not think they noticed me right away. When they did, the biggest one, who I called Omni, looked right at me and was posed with a sense of confusion. I called the raccoon Omni, assuming it was the mother, because we were right next to the Omni Hotel. She realized I was not a threat as I kept my distance and followed her and the family up the stairs and through the gardens as they searched for food.

I was not prepared for this pleasant surprise. I was just here to take a photo of the pool in a long exposure. I didn’t bring my zoom lens or my off camera flash this night. The hell with it! I popped up the built in flash, switched to my 50mm, and kick myself later about this. I had no idea Fort Worth had city raccoons. Next time I would be prepared. I had to adapt to the situation much like these little critters were born to do.

It is very interesting to watch the interaction between the mother and her children. A few times a straggler would lose their way just mere feet away from the group. They would cry out in a loud noise several times until the family found them. I imagine these raccoons do not live far away from this water source. I’d say they probably have established a home within a four block radius of the Fort Worth Water Gardens, and probably visit here every night. They didn’t seem alarmed at my presence. Occasionally, I would get a few of the babies to come up to me for a close up, but I backed up enough to be cautious.

I followed this family around for a couple of hours as they caught crickets and swam in the little pools areas. They were such fun to observe as they felt very comfortable with me just inches away.

It is rather amazing how close their fur matches the color of the landscape around here. I followed for a few more minutes and watched this interesting family hunt and interact with one another. They most certainly have their own unique personalities. 

Omni is a very loving mother. She was always on the lookout for her cubs, and she tolerated me for some reason. I’ll have to come back up here to do a follow up. In the meantime, check out the video I shot of these little rascals.