West Side Rag
  • TOP NEWS
  • OPEN/CLOSED
  • FOOD
  • SCHOOLS
  • OUTDOORS
  • REAL ESTATE
  • ART & CULTURE
  • POLITICS
  • COLUMNS
  • CRIME
  • HISTORY
  • ABSURDITY
  • ABOUT US
    • OUR STORY
    • CONTRIBUTORS
    • CONTACT
    • GET WSR FREE IN YOUR INBOX
    • SEND US TIPS AND IDEAS
West Side Rag
No Result
View All Result
SUPPORT THE RAG
No Result
View All Result

Favorite WSR Stories

  • 80 Vacant Storefronts Blight 51 Upper West Side Broadway Blocks
  • Meet the Upper West Side’s Bench Bunch
  • The Last Holdout Tenant of an UWS Townhouse Prepares for Another Winter Without Heat or Hot Water
Get WSR FREE in your inbox
SUPPORT THE RAG

PIZZA RAT’S GOT NUTHIN’ ON CENTRAL PARK’S PIZZA RACCOON

October 22, 2015 | 1:11 PM - Updated on August 31, 2025 | 8:54 PM
in ABSURDITY
17

Pizza Raccoon was spotted this week by Anya Schiffrin at the Conservancy Garden in Central Park. The enterprising mammal fished a slice out of the trash and devoured it while hanging out on a branch. Like Croissant Squirrel, Pizza Raccoon understands the art of fine urban dining.

pizza raccoon

pizza raccoon2

Share this article:
SUPPORT THE RAG
Leave a comment

Please limit comments to 150 words and keep them civil and relevant to the article at hand. Comments are closed after six days. Our primary goal is to create a safe and respectful space where a broad spectrum of voices can be heard. We welcome diverse viewpoints and encourage readers to engage critically with one another’s ideas, but never at the expense of civility. Disagreement is expected—even encouraged—but it must be expressed with care and consideration. Comments that take cheap shots, escalate conflict, or veer into ideological warfare detract from the constructive spirit we aim to cultivate. A detailed statement on comments and WSR policy can be read here.

guest

guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

17 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Jeff Berger
Jeff Berger
10 years ago

I have always wondered, since pizza does not exist in nature, what do the rats, raccoons etc, think they are eating?

0
Reply
S. Louie
S. Louie
10 years ago
Reply to  Jeff Berger

Italian food is natural. Flour, cheese and tomatoes.

Processed on some levels…but very very very tasty!!

0
Reply
Steven
Steven
10 years ago
Reply to  Jeff Berger

And more importantly, where do they stand on the crucial question of who has the best pizza on the UWS?

0
Reply
ELJ
ELJ
10 years ago
Reply to  Jeff Berger

The same could be said for humans. Just go to your local grocery and look at the list of ingredients on most of the food packages and you’ll find plenty of items that don’t exist in nature.

0
Reply
Mum
Mum
10 years ago

Great photograph!

0
Reply
m.pipik
m.pipik
10 years ago

First, Conservatory Garden is on the East Side but I love the photo anyway. The raccoons there have no fear of humans and love eating food left in the trashcans.

Actually all the CP raccoons trashcan dive for food. Like the rats they are scavengers and omnivores and like their human neighbors they would rather do take out than prepare meals.

0
Reply
Old Judge
Old Judge
10 years ago
Reply to  m.pipik

It’s west of Fifth Ave. which technically makes it in the west side. (As is the Metropolitan!)

0
Reply
Nancy Wight
Nancy Wight
10 years ago

I don’t care for pizza myself, but I adore raccoons. Thanks for the great photo.

Nancy

0
Reply
John
John
10 years ago

And like a real New Yorker… no knife and fork!

0
Reply
S. Louie
S. Louie
10 years ago
Reply to  John

Tony RaccoonaManero!!! One slice only though!

0
Reply
Sam
Sam
10 years ago

Are Racoons out and about during the day regularly?

0
Reply
jsf
jsf
10 years ago

As long as the spices did not wreak havoc on the raccoon, that’s fine. But I wonder where he got the snack – and I wonder if the rats enjoy the same fare regularly?

0
Reply
Rat A. Tooey
Rat A. Tooey
10 years ago
Reply to  jsf

Youse wrote: “and I wonder if the rats enjoy the same fare regularly?”

Well, not so regular. And most a youse un-furred tail-less bipeds don’t t’row away whole slices, just the crusts, which don’t taste so pizza-ish.

But we DO like dem t’rown away chikken wings.

And sometimes your smaller ones (youse calls dem ‘children’ or sumpin?) drops dat cold stuff youse calls icecreem? Dat stuff is good!

0
Reply
Peter
Peter
10 years ago

A raccoon out during the day could be a sign of rabies.

0
Reply
Jack Donaghy
Jack Donaghy
10 years ago

sweet! meanwhile i’ve seen tourists PETTING raccoons at the pond at the south end of the park!!! like the squirrels and ducks before them, raccoons are becoming acclimated to human presence for better or worse.

0
Reply
Liz
Liz
10 years ago

WOW!! Talk about evolution and adapting to your environment.

This guy’s a real city creature. Just curious, where, what shop, did the pizza come from anyway?

0
Reply
JC
JC
10 years ago
Reply to  Liz

“Raycoons Original Pizza”

0
Reply

YOU MIGHT LIKE...

Ruthless Advice for Upper West Siders: All of the Answers With None of the Expertise
ABSURDITY

Ruthless Advice for Upper West Siders: All of the Answers With None of the Expertise

November 11, 2025 | 8:25 AM
UWS Fairway Market Has An Error in Its Storefront Signage
ABSURDITY

UWS Fairway Market Has An Error in Its Storefront Signage

November 10, 2025 | 2:06 PM
Previous Post

THURSDAY: COMMUNITY MEETING ABOUT ‘FAKE COPS’ HARASSING TENANTS

Next Post

REPORT OF SHOTS FIRED NEAR 64TH AND WEST END (UPDATED)

this week's events image
Next Post
REPORT OF SHOTS FIRED NEAR 64TH AND WEST END (UPDATED)

REPORT OF SHOTS FIRED NEAR 64TH AND WEST END (UPDATED)

SATURDAY: FREE HOUSING WORKSHOPS AT FORDHAM

SATURDAY: FREE HOUSING WORKSHOPS AT FORDHAM

THROWBACK THURSDAY: WOLLMAN RINK IN THE 60’S

THROWBACK THURSDAY: WOLLMAN RINK IN THE 60'S

  • ABOUT US
  • CONTACT US
  • NEWSLETTER
  • WSR MERCH!
  • ADVERTISE
  • EVENTS
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • TERMS OF USE
  • SITE MAP
Site design by RLDGROUP

© 2025 West Side Rag | All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • TOP NEWS
  • THIS WEEK’S EVENTS
  • OPEN/CLOSED
  • FOOD
  • SCHOOLS
  • OUTDOORS
  • REAL ESTATE
  • ART & CULTURE
  • POLITICS
  • COLUMNS
  • CRIME
  • HISTORY
  • ABSURDITY
  • ABOUT
    • OUR STORY
    • CONTRIBUTORS
    • CONTACT US
    • GET WSR FREE IN YOUR INBOX
    • SEND US TIPS AND IDEAS
  • WSR SHOP

© 2025 West Side Rag | All rights reserved.