The Mysterious Case of the Vanishing Raccoon

For those of you who crave a good mystery...

The caller I spoke with over the phone reported that she had seen the neighborhood children in her yard with an animal that turned out to be a baby Raccoon. When she questioned the girl who had it, the girl said it was from her Grandmother’s house. A man came to get the girl and told her to leave the Raccoon, she couldn’t have it. The child and man walked away while the woman tried to ask them about the Raccoon. We always try to re-nest Raccoons, but obviously she had no idea where it came from so she was kind enough to bring it to us from Muskego.

Later that day a man and woman came in with a baby Raccoon. The woman worked at a local veterinarian’s office and one of the vets had brought 2 baby Raccoons in and asked his staff if someone wanted them. They had cared for them for a few days, but now they were going on vacation and didn’t want them anymore. But there was only one baby now. The man was very indignant that someone had stolen one of the babies. I have never had a report of a stolen Raccoon before. He said he kept them on his porch in a kennel cab and one disappeared between feedings. Raccoons are great escape artists and we have had them release themselves from kennel cabs. But a toothless baby was pretty young for such a life of crime and besides, it wouldn’t escape and then lock its sibling in. The man demanded to know if anyone had turned in a baby Raccoon. We admit many baby Raccoons this time of year but no one had “turned one in as missing”.

But- wait.

I checked my admission record for the Raccoon left by the unknown child. Same town. Same street . Hmmm, I think we have a match. When I related parts of the conversation the woman had with the child, the man knew which child she meant from the neighborhood that lived part-time with her Grandmother nearby. The child had watched him feeding the babies earlier and had apparently come back and taken one later. So the siblings were reunited and the mystery solved.

I did explain to the man and woman that it is illegal to keep wild animals (not to mention ill advised unless you enjoy having your home torn up by a wild animal) unless they have the proper licenses from the DNR. They thought because a vet had given the Raccoons to them that it was ok. Even veterinarians must have wildlife rehabilitation or other wildlife licenses to possess wildlife. We will be contacting this veterinarian’s office to educate them on the subject and also to let them know that we are here if they or their clients have wildlife issues.

-Guest Blogger L.R

"Bad" Raccoons

“We have had problems with some ‘bad’ raccoons. They have been getting into the dumpster for our residential living unit and when employees leave at night they are on the porch sometimes and they don’t run away.”

Okay, although raccoons are notorious for being mischievous and opportunistic, I didn’t realize they had begun to form gangs. That said, I explained to her that because raccoons are so smart, part of the reason they have been exhibiting these behaviors is because the employees and residents of her building have allowed them to do so.

The first thing I recommended to her was to evaluate any possible food sources. The dumpster is an obvious target so I suggested they talk with management for the building and perhaps their waste disposal company as well, to look at fencing or locking options that would prevent or limit the access these raccoons have to the garbage within. If this were an individual residence, often the best solution is to put off putting the garbage out until shortly before it is to be taken away, but as this situation wouldn’t allow for this type of set-up we have to be creative. Sometimes just requesting a replacement dumpster with new lids and a clean exterior that cuts down on the smells attracting the raccoons is all that is needed.

Additionally, I explained that the most logical explanation for these animals hanging out around the buildings, aside from the plentiful food source, is that they simply feel comfortable there. Much of the year, especially in the colder months, raccoons live fairly solitary lives and usually only find themselves living in close proximity to other raccoons in urban settings which offer up much more varied and abundant food sources. This could also be a group of juveniles or a family whose kits were born unusually late in the season, but their behaviors were not uncommon to those that we hear of regularly. The fact remains that when the individuals within the building saw these raccoons on the porch – likely looking for food scraps – night after night, choose to stay inside rather than scare them off by turning on lights, making noise, or even just opening the door, they unwittingly made the culprits feel more at home. I explained that they could also try placing ammonia or synthetic predator urine scents in and around the frequented areas to make them feel uneasy as an added incentive to the other strategies to be implemented.

The final thing I suggested was that she speak with the other people who regularly encounter these animals and try to share with them the information I gave her. My philosophy is that once you understand how to live with your wild neighbors, you will begin to understand how to live without them – in your space that is. The raccoons weren’t the problem, the abundant and easily accessible food source coupled with areas where the animals felt safe made for an ideal habitat, urbanity aside. This is why we never recommend relocating animals. Not only is it almost never actually as humane as you would like to think (a large portion of animals that are relocated do not survive for any number of reasons in addition to the law prohibiting the release of wild animals without permission), it is almost never successful as most situations fall into the same category as the one I’ve just been describing. Once the “perpetrators” are removed, the territory is then left open for others to claim and the cycle will inevitably continue.