The word "raccoon" comes from the Powhatan term "aroughcun," meaning "animal that scratches with its hands." Known for their dexterous paws and mischievous reputation, raccoons are often seen as tricksters. But this one-month-old baby raccoon wasn’t causing any trouble the day she fell from a treetop being cut down by woodcutters.
This was way back in 2014. The furry baby fell down into the backyard of Rosie Kemp. Kemp and her daughter Laura Young took the baby in their loving embrace and hoped to see her mother coming to take her away. But when hours went by and the raccoon’s mom didn’t show up, they figured out that she was an orphan.
They initially contacted the Bahamas Humane Society, but when the organization was unable to take in the injured raccoon, Laura and her husband William decided to adopt her. "They were unable to take in an orphaned raccoon," Young told CBS News. "So, with the guidance of friends who have had experience with raccoons, we cared for her."
It took nearly a month for the baby raccoon to heal her injured leg, after which the Young’s family named her “Pumpkin.” Over time, Pumpkin formed a close bond with the two pet dogs of Young, Toffee and Oreo. Young created an Instagram page by the name of “Pumpkin The Raccoon,” and the page currently has reached a whopping 1.1 million followers. With this page, Pumpkin emerged as a superstar public figure and social media celebrity. On this page, Young usually posts endearing pictures of Pumps living a pampered life in their Bahamian cottage. The pictures were so captivating to the audience that Pumpkin was once featured on the cover of Garden & Gun magazine. These bonny photographs of the toddler raccoon included Pumpkin and Oreo taking naps together, playing in the backyard, relaxing on the couch and more likewise.
From dipping into turquoise swimming pools to climbing on the kitchen countertop to grasp a cup of coffee, from nibbling pancakes with maple syrup to cuddling in cozy blanket covers, from smelling pepperoni off a cold pizza to munching biscotti biscuits and enjoying avocado, people enjoyed seeing the entertaining and playful gestures of the black-white-grey nocturnal animal. "She is so wonderful and highly intelligent and always very entertaining," Young described to CBS News. "She is a cheeky little thing, but we love her dearly."
Fast forward to a year, in a sad note posted on July 7, 2021, Young wrote that her young pet was suffering from an illness and she had to say goodbye to her. “One day in October, when Pumpkin came in and plopped her large bottom on the sofa with me I thought perhaps one of the huge military helicopters flying over gave her a fright. After that hour she jumped down and went for a drink of water and I prepared her supper. That's when the vomiting started. She had never done that before. After an hour of observing her, I called her vet and she came over. We both agreed she had probably eaten something foul and it wasn’t agreeing with her. She gave her a shot to settle her stomach. However, something just wasn't right. She didn’t seem herself at all. She seemed tired and drained. She was refusing dinner, and every time she drank any water she would throw up.”
In the following posts, Young described that there was a giant mass in Pumpkin’s stomach. A surgery was carried out to remove this mass. However, unfortunately, the vet told her that the mass was too big and recommended that the raccoon needed to be let go. Young posted about this in part four of “Saying Goodbye” posts. In October 2019, Young declared that her beloved raccoon died at the age of five. “She really was more than just my pet. Those first few hours after we said goodbye to her were daggers to my heart, but now I am able to glance up at that empty cupboard space and smile and remember her fondly.”
Later on, Young penned a book titled "The Raccoon Who Thinks She Is A Dog,” describing her experiences with Pumpkin. As for the Instagram page “Pumpkin The Raccoon,” Young has decided to continue it in dedication to her beloved pet. Through this page, she regularly raises donations for charities and organizations like World Central Kitchen, Bahamas Humane Society and more.
This story originally appeared eight months ago.
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Why do some folks use social media but don't engage?
Psychologist says people who never comment on social media share these 5 positive traits
For over 20 years, social media has developed into a staple in many people’s day-to-day lives. Whether it’s to keep in communication with friends and family, following the thoughts of celebrities, or watching cat videos while sipping your morning coffee, there seem to be two types of social media users: commenters and lurkers.
The term “lurker” sounds equally mysterious and insidious, with some social media users writing them off as non-participants at best or voyeurs at worst. However, mindfulness expert Lachlan Brown believes these non-commenters have some very psychologically positive and healthy traits. Let’s take a look at how each one of these traits could be beneficial and see how fruitful lurking might be even though it can drive content creators crazy.
1. Cautious about vulnerability
Consciously or not, making a post online or commenting on one puts you and your words out there. It’s a statement that everyone can see, even if it’s as simple as clicking “like.” Doing so opens yourself up to judgment, with all the good, bad, and potential misinterpretation that comes with it. Non-commenters would rather not open themselves up to that.
These silent users are connected to a concept of self-protection by simply not engaging. By just scrolling past posts or just reading/watching them without commentary, they’re preventing themselves from any downsides of sharing an opinion such as rejection, misunderstanding, or embarrassment. They also have more control on how much of themselves they’re willing to reveal to the general public, and tend to be more open face-to-face or during one-on-one/one-on-few private chats or DMs. This can be seen as a healthy boundary and prevents unnecessary exposure.
Considering many comment sections, especially involving political topics, are meant to stir negative emotional responses to increase engagement, being extra mindful about where, when, and what you comment might not be a bad idea. They might not even take the engagement bait at all. Or if they see a friend of theirs post something vulnerable, they feel more motivated to engage with them personally one-on-one rather than use social media to publicly check in on them.
2. Analytical and reflective mindset
How many times have you gone onto Reddit, YouTube, or any other site and just skimmed past comments that are just different versions of “yes, and,” “no, but,” or “yes, but”? Or the ever insightful, formerly popular comment “First!” in a thread? These silent browsers lean against adding to such noise unless they have some valid and thoughtful contribution (if they bother to comment period).
These non-posters are likely wired on reflective thinking rather than their initial intuition. Not to say that all those who comment aren’t thoughtful, but many tend to react quickly and comment based on their initial feelings rather than absorbing the information, thinking it over, researching or testing their belief, and then posting it. For "lurkers," it could by their very nature to just do all of that and not post it at all, or share their thoughts and findings privately with a friend. All in all, it’s a preference of substance over speed.
3. High sense of self-awareness
Carried over from the first two listed traits, these silent social media users incorporate their concern over their vulnerability and their reflective mindset into digital self-awareness. They know what triggers responses out of them and what causes them to engage in impulsive behavior. It could be that they have engaged with a troll in the past and felt foolish. Or that they just felt sad after a post or got into an unnecessary argument that impacted them offline. By knowing themselves and seeing what’s being discussed, they choose to weigh their words carefully or just not participate at all. It’s a form of self-preservation through restraint.
4. Prefer to observe rather than perform
Some folks treat social media as information, entertainment, or a mix of both, and commenting can feel like they’re yelling at the TV, clapping alone in a movie theater when the credits roll, or yelling “That’s not true!” to a news anchor that will never hear them. But contrary to that, social media is a place where those yells, claps, and accusations can be seen and get a response. By its design, social media is considered by experts and the media as performative, regardless of whether it is positive or negative. Taking all of the previously mentioned traits into account, one can see why they would prefer to “observe the play” rather than get up on the stage of Facebook or X.
On top of that, these non-commenters could be using social media differently than those who choose to fully engage with it. Using this type of navigation, there may be nothing for them to comment about. Some commenters are even vying for this for their mental health. There are articles about how to better curate your social media feeds and manipulate algorithms to create a better social media experience to avoid unnecessary conflict or mentally tiring debate.
If you go on a blocking spree on all of your accounts and just follow the posters that boost you, it could turn your social media into a nice part of your routine as you mainly engage with others face-to-face or privately. In terms of commenting, if your curated Instagram is just following cute dogs and all you have to offer for a comment is “cute dog,” you might just enjoy the picture and then move on with your day rather than join in the noise. These non-commenters aren’t in the show and they’re fine with it.
5. Less motivated by social validation
The last trait that Brown showcases is that social media users who browse without posting tend to be independent from external validation, at least online. Social media is built to grow through feedback loops such as awarding likes, shares, and reposts of your content along with notifications letting you know that a new person follows you or wants to connect. This can lead many people to connect their activity on social media with their sense of self worth, especially with adolescents who are still figuring out their place in the world and have still-developing brains.
Engaging in social media via likes, shares, comments, and posts rewards our brains by having them release dopamine, which makes us feel good and can easily become addictive. For whatever reason, non-commenters don’t rely on social media as a means to gauge their social capital or self worth. This doesn’t make them better than those who do. While some non-commenters could have healthier ways to boost their self worth or release dopamine into their systems, many get that validation from equally unhealthy sources offline. That said, many non-commenters’ silence could be a display of independence and self confidence.
Whether you frequently comment online or don’t, it’s good to understand why you do or don’t. Analyzing your habits can help you determine whether your online engagement is healthy, or needs to be tweaked. With that information, you can then create a healthy social media experience that works for you.