Today’s Solutions: October 30, 2026

During the pandemic, some members of our team ambitiously started home gardens and experimented with virtual dance classes. Others fervently baked sourdough bread and some even adopted new furry friends to keep them company. 

One of our Emissaries also brought some new four-legged friends into her life during lockdown, but not in the way you would expect. 

Meghan took all the money she would otherwise spend on live music, restaurant dining, and movie tickets and invested in night cameras to capture the active wildlife that takes over her mountainous backyard once the sun goes down. 

Tracks and scat are common on the walking trails she frequents every day, but she wondered about what actual animals were leaving these clues behind. With her new cameras, Meghan discovered just who she was sharing her trails with and all the mischief these animals get up to when humans aren’t around. 

Throughout the pandemic, we have been sharing stories about nature’s resurgence in a quieter world. Meghan’s video is certainly another great example. 

Check out the videos below to see the purr-fectly adorable scenes Meghan captured. The first video is from the trail cameras, the second features a cat food-loving raccoon right outside her door!

From playful bobcats to lumbering bears, you’ll be amazed at how active the elusive animal kingdom can be.

Have you picked up a great new pandemic pastime? Share it with us on social media @optimistdaily

Print this article
More of Today's Solutions

Rare yellow penguin is mystifying biologists

In December 2019, Belgian wildlife photographer Yves Adams had an exceptional stroke of luck while on a remote island in South Georgia. Adams was ...

Read More

8 signs of vitamin deficiency and what to do about them

As food and grocery delivery apps rise in popularity, it can become too convenient to eat take-out meals and processed snacks that get sent ...

Read More

Successful gene-hacked pig kidney transplant shows promise in xenotransplanta...

A team at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston performed a breakthrough surgical accomplishment, transplanting a kidney from a gene-hacked pig into a 62-year-old man. ...

Read More

A study of 100,000 people found we cooperate more than we think

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In a standardized behavioral experiment run with more than 100,000 people across 125 countries, 69 percent of participants ...

Read More