In 1926, a woman sent a gift to President Calvin Coolidge- a raccoon to be served for Thanksgiving dinner. The note that came with it said that it had a "toothsome flavor." The president did not eat the raccoon for Thanksgiving, nor did anyone else at the White House. But despite the title, we never get an explanation of why not in an article at Atlas Obscura. What we do get is a history of raccoon as dinner in America, and we find out what happened to the toothsome raccoon that was presented to Coolidge.
(Image source: Library of Congress)
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Uneaten is always to be preferred!
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Yeah, that part made me sad, but would she have been better off being eaten at a younger age? I would like to think that the story would have ended differently in this century. Maybe she would have been sent to a wildlife rehabilitation facility immediately, or at least she would have stayed a family pet for the rest of her life. We'd hope.
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"Grew ill and died" yeah, of a broken heart. It never seems to go well for wild animals in the stories... My first baby was a raccoon* and I'm lucky to live in the country where she could make a smooth transition to living outside and raising her own family. Some of my most precious memories are of her coming home for a visit and a cuddle after she was grown. *Someone had shot her mother, convinced that she had rabies because she was out in the day time. When their babies are little, they eat when they can, just like us.
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