In honor of Raccoon Nation.  A salute…as they preparefor release back to the wild this week.  

Check out this video of baby raccoons just finishing a messy strawberry meal that Dr. Mertz filmed yesterday!

Who can’t help but fall in love? Native raccoons deserve our respect and admiration. Please share your raccoon stories with us, email us at newildlifecenter@gmail.com.

The raccoon who made these prints must have disappeared right before I arrived on this wooden bridge.  Our nature trails skirt through the homes of many species of wild animals.

In this video, two young raccoons are exposed to live fish for the first time. With orphaned wildlife, its important to introduce them to a range of natural food which they can find in the wild. This teaches them what is suitable forage and helps to discourage their dependence on humans for food.

These two juvenile raccoons were brought in at the beginning of this summer as orphans. The “masked bandits” have been a symbol for the New England Wildlife Center, as they are the favorites of many children, volunteers and interns.  They are so sneaky and curious that they were found venturing in the ceiling one night after figuring out how to push up the ceiling tiles. However, they must be taken care of with much caution because they can carry raccoon roundworm — a potentially dangerous parasite that if ingested can cause permanent neurological damage.  This is why it is extremely important for these animals to be used for educating the public about staying away from raccoons despite their very “cute” social nature.  These two raccoons have served as great mascots to our facility and are predicted to leave by the end of the summer!  Thanks to everyone who has supported us with donations and time — if it weren’t for our generous community, we would not have the resources to care for our wonderful local wildlife.”

– Lana Fox, Student Intern

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Summer is in full-swing. Suckling raccoons are now weaned and here, in our facility, are living outside on their own in an enclosure.  They are fed, watered and visually examined every day.  Without a mother to teach them, they learn from one another.  Raccoons are highly adaptable and opportunistic.  It is one of the characterisitics that make them successful. In this cage, we give them under road culverts that are hung from the sides of the cages to play in.  They love these tubes and turn them into sleeping, socializing and playing areas.  Here, two four-month old adolscent raccoons lounge during todays mid-day heat.

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Baby raccoons are weaning at the Center.  After being bottle fed in early life they are then given a gruel of fruit, vegetables,and meat.  It is a messy business.  Once a baby finishes the sloppy job of eating they will often crawl into a cardboard tube to take a nap.

The Center embraces raccoons as its totem.  They are a native wild animal that is resourceful, successful and learned.  The raccoon nation often comes into conflict with humans, but that is almost always because humans misunderstand the relationship.  We are creating an anthology of stories, photos, artwork, poems and songs about raccoons that we have entitled, “The George Anthology.”  Please add your contribution.  We may publish this someday, so leave us your contact information.

Click here for a complete list of NEWC Raccoon Videos

George Raccoon Anthology Page

raccoon articles

Summer and Fall of 2011 –  18 orphaned raccoons from a very young age.  All but two of them were released.  Raccoons require a lot of care, as they develop very slowly and take a long time to reach an independent stage.  In the wild, some raccoons will stay with their mom through their first winter. 

 Although they do not hibernate, they will seek shelter in the den they were raised in until mom kicks them out the following spring to raise a new litter.

These photos show two of this year’s raccoons being released back into the wild.

Some objects, like this rock, they are experiencing for the first time.  At first they are timid, but they quickly adapt to the environment around them.

These raccoons have a nice thick fur coat and extras stores of fat to give them the best chance of surviving their first winter on their own, since mom is not around to help.

All photographs are courtesy of Ashley Kramer, Student Intern.