The last word and then a PS

Just to dot the last i of the swimming raccoons, here's a note I received this morning from Regina Alvarez, head of horticulture and woodlands management for Central Park:

 I just saw the fabulous photo on your website of the three raccoons swimming.  They do in fact swim, I have seen it plenty of times.  The heron is sitting on the edge of one of the planting shelves that is around the island.  The water where the raccoons are, is at least 2 feet deep near the shelf and drops sharply to about 10 feet.

PS My first answers to readers questions were posted yesterday on the NY Times City Room blog. The second set comes out today and the third [I'm still working on] will be published tomorrow. Thanks to those of you who wrote in! I recognize some names. Here, again is a link to City Room:

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/21/ask-about-central-parks-wildlife/#comments