Jewell - You were somewhat right. Several of my waterlilies did recover from the destruction of the raccoons. Though some of the plants did not come back, unfortunately.
I covered the two small container ponds with chicken wire and also cover them every at night with plywood. So far the fish and the plants have been not been attacked by any more raccoons.
Luckily, the waterlilies bloom right through the chicken wire covers on both ponds.