Anyone Familiar With Baby Raccoons?

[lavishsqualor]

A resident on one of my properties came home last night to find what she thought was a kitten on her doorstep, but upon closer observation it turned out to be a baby raccoon. It's not a newborn, but we really can't determine its age. It looks like a regular raccoon . . . just smaller. This particular complex has a wooded area behind it and a mother and four baby raccoons were spotted earlier, so we feel certain it's part of that group. The residents have been leaving cat food out for it but the raccoon won't let anyone close enough to get a good look at it.

I'm wondering if it's lost. Should I try to trap it and put it back in the woods behind the property? It's been hanging out on the third floor breezeway of the complex because folks are feeding it. Personally, I'm afraid for its safety. So many people think that every raccoon out there has rabies.

Any suggestions?

Thanks so much.

 

[catapault]

Is there a nature center / wildlife rescue in the area that could be asked what to do?

It is a catch 22 - you don't want the little raccoon to go hungry but at the same time you do not want to habituate it to thinking people are a source of food.

Just two days ago a young bear that was being fed lost all fear of people and wildlife service killed it. Young bear was fed by humans and had many 'fans.' Officials say they had to kill it Granted a bear is larger, more dangerous than a raccoon but raccoons are also capable of vicious damaging bites. They look cute but are not tame.

 

[di and bob]

I raised raccoons when I was young, EVERYONE of them turned mean when they grew up. If you know for certain the family is in the woods, I would return it there. it is most likely old enough to forage for food if it is getting around like that. Grabbing it with heavy/welding gloves would work, or trapping it. Rabies are not that common, it is pure ignorance to think EVERY raccoon has it. Returning it to the woodfs would be a good thing, as would calling a wildlife center or even getting help from your local shelter, even if it is just to learn where to go. Someone will most likely kill it if it stays around too long, humans are the cruelest of all mammals.

 

[lavishsqualor]

Thanks di and bob. I had pretty much made up my mind that Junior was going back to the woods from whence he came.

You're definitely right about humans being the cruelest of all mammals. Friedrich Nietzsche said the same thing when he opined that "Man is the cruelest animal. At tragedies, bullfights, and crucifixions he has so far felt best on earth; and when he invented hell for himself, behold, that was his very heaven.”

 

[Kflowers]

Wildlife people or back to the woods. Do not take it to a regular vet. If the vet doesn't have the wildlife license, there is a good chance he will pts. This may even be a law.

 

[lavishsqualor]

Catapault that baby bear story is so sad. I can't believe they killed it. I have no words for how upsetting that is.

No worries, Kflowers. Florida actually is one of the few states to allow pet raccoons, not that we're intending to make this one a pet.

 

[1 bruce 1]

I raised raccoons when I was young, EVERYONE of them turned mean when they grew up. If you know for certain the family is in the woods, I would return it there. it is most likely old enough to forage for food if it is getting around like that. Grabbing it with heavy/welding gloves would work, or trapping it. Rabies are not that common, it is pure ignorance to think EVERY raccoon has it. Returning it to the woodfs would be a good thing, as would calling a wildlife center or even getting help from your local shelter, even if it is just to learn where to go. Someone will most likely kill it if it stays around too long, humans are the cruelest of all mammals.

Wildlife is very difficult to raise in a home setting. Raccoons tend to live better than wild fledglings or baby rabbits, but they often do turn mean because wild animals usually don't make the best pets.
lavishsqualor I'd ask the wildlife center, too. It's good you're not intending this as a pet, like di and bob baby raccoons are like kittens but grown raccoons are nothing like cats.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

By all means, call the local wildlife center! If necessary, they will bottle-rear the baby without taming it, and release it into the wild when it is old enough to be on its own.