Jun 4, 2008
Giving a helping hand
Screech and Lucky get a second chance
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by Patricia Gay
When Barbara Gross walked out to get her mail around noon a couple of weeks ago, she heard a strange “chittering” sound coming from the driveway of her home on Blue Spruce Circle.
Walking toward the garage, she found the source of the noise — two tiny baby raccoons were huddled together and shaking.
Seeing no mother raccoon in sight, Ms. Gross, knowing that raccoons can often carry rabies, took care not to touch them, and instead walked to her deck and watched the critters make their way to a bed of pachysandra to cover themselves.
After some time passed and there was still no sign of the pair’s mother, Ms. Gross started to think something might be wrong. She also grew concerned that the babies would become prey to larger animals.
Looking for guidance, Ms. Gross called Wildlife in Crisis, a nonprofit wildlife care center in Weston that rehabilitates wild animals.
A Wildlife in Crisis worker suggested putting a cat carrier out to see if the raccoons would go inside it, and if they did, bringing the pair to the center. To Ms. Gross’s surprise, the pair went right inside, so she zipped the carrier up and took them to the center.
The raccoons were quite noisy. Ms. Gross nicknamed the bigger of the two Screech, because of the loud sounds he was making while trying to protect the smaller one, which she nicknamed Lucky.
Dehydrated
Once at the center, the raccoons were examined and bathed. They appeared to be quite dehydrated so they were fed from a baby bottle.
“The two raccoons are doing very well and are thriving now,” said Dara Reid, director of Wildlife in Crisis. She said in a few months they will be put in a large pen with other baby raccoons to prepare them for eventual release. Raccoons mature very slowly and usually spend a full year with their mother.
Ms. Gross feels better now, knowing Screech and Lucky are safe and sound.
According to Ms. Reid, many of the baby raccoons received at the center are orphaned because someone trapped their mother. “We ask people not to use traps this time of year, since you are more than likely going to be trapping a nursing mother,” she said.
Healthy mother raccoons are often seen out during the day. This is nothing to worry about, Ms. Reid said.
However, if a normally nocturnal animal is seen during the day acting aggressive, lethargic, or seemingly “drunk,” extreme caution should used. These are signs of possible rabies infection.
“We also ask people to please watch for wildlife when driving. Wild animals are very active this time of year, which means they will be frequently crossing our vast network of roads. Dawn and dusk are periods of particularly high activity for many wild animals,” Ms. Reid said.
Orphans
Wildlife in Crisis accepts all species of native wildlife, from tiny hummingbirds to bald eagles. “We want to make sure these baby animals are truly orphans before accepting them. The last thing we want to do is take baby animals away from their parents,” she said.
According to Ms. Reid, many times animals may just need a gentle helping hand, such as putting a baby bird back in its nest. “It’s a myth that your scent will hinder the parents’ return,” she said.
On the other hand, the center receives hundreds of calls from people about fawns lying alone in their yards. “This is perfectly normal. Mother deer only return to their fawns a few times a day, mostly overnight. We ask people to please leave fawns alone and not to touch them. Human scent can deter a mother deer from returning to her fawn. Sometimes fawns end up inside fenced yards or pools, in which case you can simply put on a pair of garden gloves and gently place the fawn directly on the other side of the fence,” she said.
For more information and answers about wildlife, visit www.wildlifeincrisis.org, or call 203-544-9913 if you believe you are seeing a wild animal in distress.
© Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers
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