Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs Devin Vegas, 27, a musician and wildlife rehabilitation volunteer based in New York, recently spent Thanksgiving with some of his personal favorites: local raccoons.He told Newsweek that he “honestly has more love for raccoons than humans,” saying the animals are unfairly judged by society.Vegas, who regularly feeds the animals, recently went viral when a video shared to his TikTok account, @devinvegas, showed the moment his dinner date with a raccoon went wrong when he dropped his electronic cigarette straight into the hands of the bandit.Posted on November 30, Vegas’ clip has received over 3.3 million views and shows his vape on the ground after being dropped down a ledge. And the device isn’t alone down there, as the intelligent eyes of a raccoon are staring up at the camera, as if scoping out its next move. “No, it’s going to steal my vape,” Vegas says with a breathless laugh.And his prediction quickly came true, as the animal crept forward, ignoring Vegas’ pleas of “Don’t steal my vape; that is not food.”
From left: the raccoon grabs hold of the dropped vape in the viral clip. The curious animal reacted quickly to see if it was anything worth stealing.
From left: the raccoon grabs hold of the dropped vape in the viral clip. The curious animal reacted quickly to see if it was anything worth stealing.
TikTok @devinvegas
The raccoon’s humanlike hands reached forward and grabbed the shiny device, picking it up and starting to run—but eventually dropped it as the video ended.Vegas told Newsweek he had been feeding the raccoons Thanksgiving food when his vape, which was out of battery, fell out of his pocket.”Knowing that it wouldn’t hurt them and that I was 5 feet away, if that, I just let him do what he was doing, and I found it hilarious,” Vegas said, adding that he then went down and safely got the vape back.Later, the same raccoon returned to him, and Vegas jokingly told the animal he was internet-famous, while the animal began posing like a celebrity.TikTok users loved the unusual clip, with one writing: “Nobody would believe you if it wasn’t recorded.””Little robbers be robbin,” another wrote, as a third posted: “I couldn’t even be mad.” Another comment pointed out the critter’s “direct eye contact” as he stole the item.
From left: Devin Vegas holds a raccoon. The musician and wildlife rehab volunteer is hoping to shift the public perception on the animals.
From left: Devin Vegas holds a raccoon. The musician and wildlife rehab volunteer is hoping to shift the public perception on the animals.
TikTok @devinvegas
Vegas said he hopes to “be a part of the shift in the way the public view” raccoons, having rehabilitated many of the creatures. Much of his TikTok account is filled with interesting videos of the animals.”We are their biggest predators; they are more scared of us than we should be of them,” he added.The New York City government WildlifeNYC site echoes Vegas’ sentiments, urging New Yorkers not to be so quick to judge the animals, as they are simply doing their best to survive.Raccoons are widespread throughout New York, from forests to urban areas in New York City; they make their homes anywhere from abandoned burrows to tree crevices and storm sewers, according to Wildlife NYC.Vegas told Newsweek: “Instead of throwing things and yelling at them, just stand back and watch them.”I’ve been working on trying to make somewhere people can learn and interact with them safely,” he added.Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some extra details, and they could appear on our website.
