Ferocious Mating

Raccoons often display fierce, high-energy mating behavior that includes aggressive vocalizations and chasing as males engage receptive females. Walking along the Goldstream River before sunrise I suddenly heard some loud, shrilling calls. After quickly and quietly heading towards the sounds I saw a pair of raccoons mating in the river shallows. Knowing a typical racoon mating session can be over in a few minutes, I had to act fast. With the low lighting and fast and furious action I needed to push the limits for my camera settings using the 800m lens I had with me. To keep the ISO setting as low as possible I also used a tree to help steady the camera as I shot. About two minutes after my arrival their mating session was over and the racoons quietly disappeared back into the forest.