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Howell Nature Center

4 days ago

Patient of the week 🦝

We have been busy caring for new patients, but we still have many from last year who are spending the winter with us for a spring release. This little guy is one of them.

Affectionately called “Little Boy,” he came to us at the end of last summer in horrible condition with his eye sockets packed with fly eggs. We typically do not accept raccoons, but when he showed up at our clinic, we knew he didn’t have time to go to another rehabber. He was cold, severely dehydrated, and listless, so we spent the night providing aggressive supportive care. When his caretaker woke up every couple hours to give him more fluids, she was afraid each time that she would find he had passed. Luckily, he made it, but it would be days before we knew he was going to pull through. While we had planned to transfer him to a raccoon rehabber, we decided to make an exception to our raccoon policy so that we could see his care through to release. It is important to raise raccoons with others, so we now also have “Girl” and “Big Boy.”

Did you know….?
🦝 Raccoons do not hibernate. During winter, it is not unusual to see one out during the day looking for food. This DOES NOT mean they are sick.
🦝 A raccoon has not tested positive for rabies in Michigan in decades. Is it a common misconception that rabid raccoons are abundant in MI. They aren’t.
🦝 Trapping and relocating raccoons, during any season, often results in death since they do not know where to find resources in the area. Relocating them during winter is a near certain death sentence. (There are many humane ways to evict raccoons. We would love to give you this info on our wildlife helpline!)
🦝 In addition to being extremely adorable and intelligent, raccoons play many roles in the ecosystem.

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