Living here in the desert, it’s not uncommon to come across a coyote or javelina, but one animal appears to becoming more common, as Peoria residents have been reporting more raccoon sightings.
Arizona Game and Fish spokeswoman Alexandra Flickinger said that although raccoons are more common in northern Arizona, they are pretty prevalent in the desert, especially around urban areas.
There was even a report from a Valley resident of a raccoon pushing its way through a doggy door to get to pet food, and doing it on more than one occasion.
“Working with the public and nuisance wildlife issues, I do feel like we are encountering more and more human/wildlife interactions with raccoons,” Flickinger said. “Raccoons are opportunistic foragers, so that is why we find them more often in our neighborhoods and areas where humans reside. They love trash cans and pet food, especially cat food. It is very common to get raccoon visitors when people feed pets outside, and instances when people are feeding feral cats.”
This is why Flickinger encourages people to haze wildlife that come hang around homes and remove anything that may attract them, and never feed them intentionally. She stresses this because raccoons can also carry diseases that can be transmitted to people’s pets.
“So it’s always better to not let them get too comfortable,” she said.
Raccoons may live under sheds, in brush piles or any dense vegetation; they typically live in burrow-type homes.
As with any nuisance wildlife issue, Arizona Game and Fish always encourages people to see what’s attracting them and remove the attractant.
Philip Haldiman can be reached at phaldiman@iniusa.org, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman. We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions.
Meet Philip Haldiman is an award-winning journalist who most recently took first place for investigative reporting in 2023 from Arizona Newspapers Association. He joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2015, covering Sun City West his first year. Since 2016, he has covered the city of Peoria. Prior to coming to INI, he was a reporter with The Arizona Republic for seven years, covering numerous cities throughout the Valley. Before that, he was a freelance writer.
Community: Haldiman spearheads the Peoria Independent Hometown Heroes Awards program, honoring local individuals and businesses that give back to the community. He has hosted local candidate forums over the years and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Haldiman also served as a member of the Journalism Program Community Advisory Board at Glendale Community College. Outside journalism, Haldiman served as a member of the city of Peoria Complete Count Committee for the Census, 2019-2020. Lastly, he has served as a member of his HOA governing board since 2021.
Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a BA in Theater.
Random Fact: Haldiman is a fourth-generation Arizonan as well as wrote and produced an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.
Hobbies: He enjoys hiking Arizona’s mountainous landscapes and is currently working on a play for the stage.
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