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Profs & Pints: Raccoons Unmasked

Profs and Pints presents: "Raccoons Unmasked," with John Hadidian, urban wildlife expert and instructor in natural resources for Virginia Tech.

Biologist John Hadidian spent more than 10 years hot on the trail of Washington DC's mischievous raccoons. Using radio transmitters and tracking collars, he followed the animals around the city throughout the night, studying their habits. His research helped make him a leading national expert on them, with federal agencies and National Geographic turning to him as a consultant on the critters. He remains a member of the board of directors of City Wildlife, a Washington DC organization devoted to helping wildlife that has been injured or orphaned.

Come to La Pop cultural salon to hear the fascinating things that Dr. Hadidian learned. He'll discuss raccoons' social interactions and social organization, their space use and shelter requirements, and how they forage throughout the hours when most of us are in bed. He'll also take us through their life cycle and yearly pattern, which includes mating, bearing and raising young, and fattening up in fall for lean times in winter.

Cities, it turns out, represent a near-perfect habitat for these wildlife generalists, which are as happy to sleep in your attic and nosh on your discarded jumbo slice or half smoke as they are to munch on berries and dwell in a tree. Dr. Hadidian is full of great tales about these rascally raiders, their antics in the night, and the chaos that can ensue when raccoons and humans come face to face. He'll be donating his proceeds from his talk to City Wildlife. (Tickets $10 in advance and $12 at the door.)