i was hunting in 1999. and my tree stand started to shake for no reason at all. im 16 ft in the air early in the morn and chilly out. so im looking around. and i see nothing. then i hear growling im looking around still nothing. then i look up and their he was the biggest raccoon you will ever see. 3 ft from my head trying to get down the tree and he was mad. so i swear i jumped down without even using the ladder and from the adrenaling i landed right on my feet. must of been the boot blankets that protected the landing with a cusion. but i never used that tree again