LAST FRIDAY, SANTA MONICA WAS hit with a huge, out-of-season storm. I was having dinner with my niece, Erin, when we witnessed the incredible lightning and thunder. The torrential rains wreaked havoc across the Southland, trapping cars in mud. In Costa Mesa, a woman scrambled atop her van while she waited for help. Near Griffith Park, 14 vehicles were stuck in mud and ash. The storm sent water containing oil, fertilizer and pesticides cascading through storm drains. (Doesn’t that sound just lovely?) As a result, officials warned the public to avoid contact with the ocean. Duh.
Among the many storm victims, was one particular grayish-brown mammal with a fox-like face, a black mask and a ringed tail, a raccoon that I decided to name “Rocky.” (Beatles trivia: Paul got the idea for the song “Rocky Raccoon” when he was playing guitar with John and Donovan in India. Producer George Martin played the piano in an old-west saloon style.) Before I go further, let me report that Rocky is now fine and back in the wild, but not after a rather harrowing 36 hours.
It seems very likely that on Friday night Rocky might have been foraging for food somewhere east of Santa Monica, how far, of course, no one knows. Suddenly, he got swept up in floodwaters that sent him down a storm drain. Underground, Rocky was transported through miles of sewer systems until sometime Saturday morning he was deposited into the ocean at the end of the Pico-Kenter storm drain in front of the Casa del Mar Hotel. I know all of this because that morning, my friend, Scott Smith, a professional photographer, thought he might get some interesting shots of the powerful storm waters. However, the last thing he thought he’d be photographing, scampering along the sand, would be a raccoon.
Put yourself in Rocky’s shoes, or rather paws. One minute you’re about to have a nice, relaxing dinner and the next thing you’re in the sewer system, literally up s**t’s creek without a paddle. But how could any raccoon have known? We hadn’t had any rainfall in Santa Monica since April and, suddenly, it’s Noah’s Ark time? Fortunately, raccoons are excellent swimmers. (Their scientific name is lotor, Latin for ‘one who washes,’ a name descriptive of the raccoon’s habit of using its front feet to forage for food in water.) Stunned to see Rocky on the beach, Scott followed the little guy, snapping photos as he trailed. Rocky was shivering at times, and if things weren’t bad enough, crows were dive-bombing him. (When it rains it pours.) Battered and bruised, Rocky stopped momentarily in front of Casa del Mar, seeming to contemplate climbing a tree to get away from the crows, or perhaps to take a nap and hope all of this was just a bad dream. Suddenly, he switched to Plan B and hopped the fence at Casa del Mar as delighted hotel guests watched.
Scott informed hotel management they had a new guest (“Rocky Raccoon checked into his room,” only this case it was the bushes out in front). Scott called Animal Control, but they didn’t seem too interested, so he drove there and convinced them the situation was urgent. When Scott returned to Casa del Mar, Animal Control Officer Ford was already there. Meanwhile, little Rocky was busy climbing a palm tree which left him exposed enough for Officer Ford to finally hoop him. Scott held the cage open and stage #1 of the rescue was completed without injury.
Saturday night, Scott checked in on Rocky, who wasn’t exactly thrilled with being in a cage, but was still doing OK. At 10 that night, it was stage #2 as Officer Shepherd released Rocky at Clover Park, where there is already a family of raccoons. While raccoons don’t usually take in outsiders, she reasoned Rocky was better there than in a cage, where he would be thinking he’d be killed or eaten. So Rocky was set free to start a new life. Actually, on some days, that notion sounds appealing to me. In the meantime, I’m just guessing, but I imagine next time it rains, Rocky might decide to stay in that night.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 28, 2007. Read the original PDF.