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Wildlife Wednesday – Raccoons

There is a slow progression at Wild Angels.  Animals are in outdoor enclosures.  They are learning to feed themselves and are having almost no contact with Older Daughter at this point.  These are the things that get them ready to be released.   Because there are really no new happenings at Wild Angels, I’ll just update you on a couple of the raccoons on the property.  The first report is a sad one.  One of the raccoon babies has died.  Unfortunately, we believe this little one was destined to perish from the very beginning.  She was small for her age all along, but the real worry was that she just wasn’t growing.  The others far surpassed her in size and weight.  In Nature, this would have been one of the kits that didn’t survive.  If we knew the numbers of baby wildlife that do not survive in the wild it would shock us all.  Older Daughter and I talked about it and we always tell each other the same thing.  Animals live in the moment.  They do not fret about the future.  This little girl was happy and playful right up until she started showing signs of slowing down.  But once she started to decline, she was gone within 24 hours (which is a blessing). 

The other story is about that wobbly momma raccoon who brings her babies to Older Daughter’s yard to eat.  I’ve reported about this mom and two kits several times this year.  Today’s story is a little different however.   Ms Wobbly Raccoon will come into the yard to eat even if Older Daughter is somewhere outside and Ms Wobbly can see her.  But the kits stay back until Older goes inside and then they join mom for some food.  Well the other day, Older was outside and she saw Ms Wobbly moving towards the food.  She saw that the babies were close behind her and had not noticed that Older was outside.  So Older froze.  She stood statue-still and mom wobbled on up to the food with her babies right behind her.  The babies had not a clue that a human was standing so close to them.  Older had her phone out to snap some pics.   The family got close enough that Older could have reached out to touch them.  She didn’t move a muscle.  In the first pic, you see Momma look up at Older Daughter with a baby right behind her.  In the second pic, the baby has suddenly noticed Older and has raised up on hind legs to stare at her.  When the babies realized something was up, they ran away and into the woods line.  It actually spooked Momma Wobbly and she ran with them.  SO cute!

 

 

Good stuff!

 

Tabby Cat

I wonder if you remember me mentioning a tabby cat that has been spotted in these parts here and there since February.  I will refer to this cat as “it” since I don’t know if “it” is male or female.  I first saw this cat the first of February.  It was hunting in the field across from my house.  I set my trap for several days, but the cat wasn’t seen again.  I gave up and assumed it was just passing through.  Then, starting mid-February, we had three big snows.  And after each of these, I discovered cat prints in the snow.  So I started setting my trap again.  The temperatures were frigid, so I could only set the trap when I was able to check it every few minutes.  No animal should sit in a trap in such terrible conditions.  I never caught the cat and when the snow melted there was no more opportunity to see tracks.  But at the end of February, Husband saw the cat cross our driveway.  He raced outside, but the cat had disappeared.   I won’t go back over the details of every time this cat was spotted, but there have been multiple sightings.  Once, Younger Daughter caught sight of the tabby eating just outside of her back door where she puts out food for the opossums.  And Older Daughter saw the cat in a field as she was driving one morning.  AND – you know how Older Daughter is a wildlife rehabber.  She is up in the middle of the night feeding babies during wildlife baby season.  One night (morning actually) around 2am, she was sitting on her couch feeding baby wildlife and she saw movement on her deck.  Sitting right outside her sliding glass door was the tabby cat – looking in.  She got up very slowly and hoped to coax it indoors.  But as soon as the cat registered movement inside, it shot away.   Each daughter has seen the cat at least one additional time beyond what I’ve just reported.  We are all worried about this kitty.  But we have no idea how to get it.  You would think since it’s been SIX months since the first sighting, we should give up the possibility that this cat is still around.  But if you remember the story of the Wisher Theo – my first sighting of him was one July.  And it was December when I finally got him.

And . . .

There’s been another sighting of the tabby cat!  And this time, I got pictures!!

A couple of weeks ago, there were three VERY tiny skunks at the edge of my property near the West Woods.  I told Older Daughter about them and that it was odd that I saw no mom skunk.  Older said that skunk babies definitely either stay in the den or stay with mom when they venture out.  I saw them three nights in a row and there was never a mom skunk.  So I started putting out food in the area where I continued to see them.  I have now not seen them at all for over a week and a half.  But I still walk to that spot every evening and put the food out.  I know those baby skunks are not the ones eating that food, but something is eating there.  So I continue.  Last Friday evening as I was walking to the spot to dump out the “wild animal feast,” I suddenly realized that I had seen something to my right that didn’t belong.  Have you ever done this?  You glance at something you are familiar with, and you turn away.  But your brain registers that something is off.  As I looked back at the spot to my right, THERE WAS THE TABBY CAT.  Frozen.  It was down in a little gully that leads to the gravel road, and it had adequately flattened itself in an attempt to keep me from seeing it.  I slowly pulled out my phone and got some pictures.  Then I started talking ever so quietly and gently.  I took a couple of steps towards it.  It did not move one muscle.  But when I took one more step, it shot off into some grass and then directly into the woods.  Gone.

So.   I am back to setting my trap.  Friends, please keep your fingers crossed.

 

I was pretty far away when I first noticed the cat.

 

 

Look right between the trees.

 

Took a couple of steps and got this pic and then it was gone.

 

Fingers crossed!!

See you tomorrow for a Wildlife Wednesday.

 

Chevie

Last week I said I wanted to introduce you to a precious little kitten who has been through WAY too much.  But there’s a happy ending so I feel good about sharing this story with you. 

 

 

A couple of weeks ago, Older Daughter was home (on her day off from the shelter).  At just a few minutes before  5pm, the kennel worker at the shelter was about to close up and lock the doors.  A call came in about a kitten who was in a car engine when the people started up the car.  The person reported that the kitten was in really bad shape and that the engine had cut off one of its legs.   The kennel worker got on the phone to Older Daughter who immediately called the veterinary clinic that the shelter uses.  Dr. B was just closing up for the day.  But she called her Vet Tech back in and said to send the kitten to them.  The kitten was delivered and Dr. B saw that the tail was also severely damaged.  The only thing to do was to take what was left of the leg off at the hip and to remove the tail as well.      I cannot imagine what this little sweetheart was going through.  And of course, it’s always possible to lose the patient during a surgery for such horrific injuries.

Little Chevie survived the surgery.  Now the nightmare would be what she would go through during recovery.  She lost her tail.  She lost one of her back legs.  The toes on the foot of the other back leg were damaged.  And the pads on her two front paws were burned.  Those first days would be nearly unbearable for this little baby.  She received pain medications of course.  And she mostly just stayed on her side.  Older Daughter took her home to foster her through the recovery.  She had to force-feed her in the beginning.

 

 

This precious little baby girl must have had a real will to live.  She never complained.  In only a matter of days she started to look a little brighter.

 

 

She had to be propped up initially, but she worked and worked and was eventually able to sit up on her own.

 

 

 

The first time I visited her at Older Daughter’s home, I was shocked at how sweet she was.  She wanted all of the attention I would give her.

 

 

 

It’s almost unbelievable, but Chevie is now scooting around the floor at Older Daughter’s.  Older says she wants to explore everything.  She even tries to play with toys.  She isn’t able to walk yet, but she has tried to balance a couple of times.  We know she will eventually master walking with those three legs.

 

 

 

 

We all need a story with a happy ending sometimes.  This one fits the bill.

 

Wildlife Wednesday – Updates and a Newcomer

There is a story for today.  But I thought first I’d give you an update on the various critters at Wild Angels.  Everybody is in an outdoor enclosure at this point except for the two starlings.  They spend some time outdoors and some time indoors at this point.  The little stinkers still want Older Daughter to feed them some of the time.  They will eat on their own but they wait on their “momma bird” (older daughter) to feed them occasionally.  Older is working on this problem so that they can move permanently to an outdoor enclosure.

The little opossum is doing great.  She is soft and sleek and very healthy.  Older Daughter was saying how she especially hates releasing opossums.  They leave her healthy and strong.  But opossums just don’t have a lot of luck staying healthy in the wild.  Anyway – here’s the little cutie about to have a meal.

 

 

The last time I wrote about Wild Angels, I introduced you to two new raccoon babies.  One of these was very young when Older received him.  He had been in a person’s care along with his two siblings.  The two siblings had died, and a friend suggested sending the surviving baby to Wild Angels.  Unfortunately, this little guy died shortly after arriving at Wild Angels.  The other raccoon had been kept as a pet.  That one has now moved in with the two older outdoor raccoons.  She is doing really well and beginning to think of herself as a raccoon.  The five raccoons who had moved outdoors some time ago are all doing great.

 

 

 

I’ve written about a couple of Older Daughter’s releases coming back for a visit.  One of her doves continues to show up in various places in her yard.

 

 

And the wobbly raccoon, who is currently a mother of two, brings her babies to eat in Older Daughter’s yard. 

 

Very satisfying!

 

Now for the story of the day.  This one begins with YOUNGER Daughter.  One evening, Younger’s husband stepped out the back door to put something in a trash can they have out there.  Younger tells the story – He came back in calling for me.  “Hurry”- he said.  “There’s an opossum in our trash can and I don’t know if it’s dead or not but I can see babies!”  I went running out with him and there was the opossum lying on her side in the bottom of the trash can.  I nudged her and got some movement.  Sure enough, a few of her tiny pink babies had crawled out of the pouch and were lying on top of her.  (Older Daughter later explained to us that the opossum babies were still attached to mom.  They were too young to have released.  But the mom’s pouch was somewhat open and they’d moved partially out.)  I called my sister and told her what I was seeing.  She wasn’t home but she said to get the mom into one of her outdoor enclosures and she would tend to her the minute she got home.

 

 

So that’s what Younger Daughter and her husband did.  This mom opossum had managed to get into an empty trash can.  We still cannot figure out how she did this.  Crawling up the side of the empty can should have tipped it over.  But there she was at the bottom.  She couldn’t get out.  The heat had been terrible that day so this mom opossum spent at least some of that day trapped in a trash can in the heat.  Younger Daughter got a bowl of water into the enclosure.  She was hoping the momma would at least drink.  As they were walking away, she turned back and saw the momma opossum drinking.  What a relief!

Older Daughter checked on her new opossum as soon as she got home.  It was the squirrel enclosure that Younger put her in.  She had consumed almost all of the water in the bowl and then climbed way up into the squirrel house.

 

 

Older was able to check her over.  She was slightly dehydrated and she looked rough, but that’s how most mom opossums look in the wild.  She fixed a small doghouse with straw; oh how opossums love straw.  And she got more fresh water and some food into the enclosure.  The next morning, mom was cozy inside the doghouse and all of the food was gone.

 

 

This happened several days ago.  Mom opossum hasn’t made even one attempt to dig out of her enclosure or escape as Older moves in and out.  This momma seems to know that she went from hell to heaven somehow, and she isn’t looking this gift horse in the mouth.

See you next week.

 

Peep Progress

I did not expect to be writing again about Peep.  First let me say thanks for your comments about our big ol’ giant boy.  And thanks to those of you who reached out with advice.  I sure appreciate it.  Everyone was so kind and helpful that I wanted to give you an update.  It’s all good news except for one little “inconvenience” that I have now accepted.

First of all, Peep is MUCH better.  He is urinating easily now.  Of course, I know that this second antibiotic injection could have the same result as the first one.  Two weeks after the first one, he was worse than at the start.  But the vet was hopeful that two of these injections would do the trick.  Then, the issue became how to keep this from happening again in the future.  That required an entirely different diet.   I guess we’ve been lucky to have none of our house kitties on a special diet.  They free-feed dry around the clock.  And they get a small amount of canned food once a day.  There were two hurdles I had to find my way over in order to keep Peep safe.  I had to find both a “urinary tract health” dry food and canned food that he would eat.  And I had to find a way for our other cats to continue to have access to their dry food without Peep joining them. 

After FOUR different dry food trials, and THREE different canned food trials, I’m pleased to announce that Peep accepted one of each.  Unfortunately, the only canned food he will eat is a prescription food.  And it happens to be one that my own veterinary clinic doesn’t carry.  BUT – I found a way to order it myself and the company messages my vet for clearance before charging me and sending the food.  It’s terribly expensive but it’s what he has to have.  The dry food that he was willing to eat is one I can order without a prescription.  So we are all set.

That brought me to the issue of how to feed Peep separately from the others.  He moved into the upstairs bathroom initially so that I could control everything, primarily keeping a watchful eye out for urination.  I discovered that he doesn’t cry overnight in the bathroom, only during the day.  After those first few days, I was able to let him out in the daytime and put him back in the bathroom for the overnight hours.  I resigned myself to the realization that dry food could no longer be out during the day since Peep could go right to it and indulge himself.  Our other cats have not been particularly happy about this new schedule.  But they have adjusted and now they know they can get their fill during the night.  Then Peep has his special dry food and canned food overnight in the bathroom.  Friends, it’s working.  And for that I’m grateful.  At first I was grieving a bit over the loss of my upstairs bathroom.  Certainly I’ve moved cats into that room many times over the years.  But those were always temporary situations.  Looks like this new arrangement will need to be permanent.  I’ve mentioned before that my husband uses the downstairs bathroom more than I do.  Well, I use the upstairs bathroom more.  It now contains a cat bed, water dish, two food dishes, and a litter box.  And I guess it will continue to house these things for the foreseeable future.  Oh, well.  This is life with animals.  Our home has never been “normal” in any sense of the word.

 

Sitting in the chair right beside me as I write this post.

 

Fingers crossed that Peep will not relapse when the antibiotic injection is out of his system.

Next Tuesday, I hope to tell you about a brave little kitten who went through more than any little kitten should ever have to.

See you tomorrow for Wildlife Wednesday.

 

Peep

In a post a few weeks ago, I blogged about various health problems in the aging population here.  At the end of that post, I mentioned that although our Peep cat is not old (very young, in fact), he had a pretty serious UTI.  He received an antibiotic injection at that time and I tried to start him on some supplements for UTIs.  The problem?  Peep cannot be medicated.  I have tried a pill popper (which I have lots of success with in other cats).  I tried liquid.  Nope.  I tried hiding things in his food, but he sniffs and walks away.  At a whopping 17 pounds, Peep does whatever he wants to do.  And if he doesn’t want you messing with him, he doesn’t let it happen.  We even tried rolling him into a towel like a burrito, and he managed to tear us to shreds anyway.

Yesterday morning, I was just pouring my first cup of coffee when I could hear a cat growling loudly down the hall.  I went to investigate and it was Peep.  He was also hissing at the other cats who’d gathered around him to see what the problem was.  I tried to pet him, to comfort him, but he quickly ran away from me.  I followed him to a litter box.  He sat and sat and sat.  NOTHING came out.  It was too early to call the vet, but as soon as they were open, I was on the phone.   As I’ve said before, when NO urine comes out at all it is very serious because a complete blockage is life-threatening.

At the vet, they were able to express his bladder and they got a good sample of urine.  It was full of crystals.  So now – what to do . . .   He received another antibiotic injection.  This time he also came home with an anti-inflammatory medication that is a PILL to be given today and tomorrow (he also received an injection of the medication while at the vet).  Today’s pill is due about 10am this morning.  I’m not looking forward to it.  The other big problem is that the vet tech told me he would have to go on the special urinary tract food.  Well, I certainly cannot afford to feed that food to all of my cats.  And I don’t want to confine Peep to one room of the house.  Still trying to figure out the future here.  For a few days, however, Peep IS staying in the upstairs bathroom.  I need to know that he is able to urinate.  And I can keep him on the special food while he is isolated.  He is sad and crying, though, and that sure does break my heart.

 

In his new bed in the upstairs bathroom.

 

 

Eating some urinary tract health food.

 

It would have been nice if the cat who ended up with the UTI and the crystals was a cat you could easily medicate.  There are loads of supplements that can help with his problem, but he is not one to allow any of that.  Keep your fingers crossed for me, will you?

 

Cynthia – THANK YOU.

June – THANK YOU.

 

Wildlife Wednesday – The Great Outdoors

Most of the babies at Wild Angels have moved to outdoor enclosures.  The raccoons are of two sizes (ages) so the two bigger ones are in one enclosure and the three smaller ones are in a separate enclosure.  The opossum has moved to an outdoor enclosure as well.  I went down to Older Daughter’s house to take some pictures of the babies in their new environments.  While I was there, I was able to catch a glimpse of some of Older Daughter’s past successful releases.  First let me show you the babies in their new outdoor world.  It’s wonderful to reach this stage as this usually means they are past the “might-die” stage.  And they are now learning how to take care of themselves.

Here are the three smaller ones in their new outdoor enclosure.

 

 

 

The two older ones have been playing nonstop.

 

 

 

 

Here is the little opossum in her new enclosure.  Opossums LOVE straw bedding.  She took the straw out of the doghouse in her enclosure and made her own den under a log.

 

 

 

The starlings have not moved to an outdoor enclosure yet.  Older is still transitioning them to eat on their own.   Baby birds, like most baby animals, have parents who show them how to eat in the wild.  It doesn’t go as smoothly or as quickly when parent birds are replaced with rehabbers.  The baby starlings are learning to drop to the floor of their cage and noodle around for their food.  But they aren’t doing it well enough or consistently enough to move outside quite yet.

 

 

 

While I was at Wild Angels getting my pictures for this post, I was lucky enough to see a couple of visitors – a couple of Wild Angels who were babies here in years past.  I’ve actually written about each of these two visitors in recent posts.  It was nice to catch a glimpse of these “grown-ups” back for a little visit.  As I was snapping pics of the raccoons, Older Daughter pointed out that the dove in the tree over by her house is the same dove that landed on my head a few weeks ago.

 

 

And then, Older grabbed my arm and pointed and said – “Look. There’s my wobbly momma raccoon at the edge of the yard.”  Older sprinkled some food out in a spot where the occasional visiting raccoons come to eat.  And Ms Wobbly Raccoon made her way over to eat a few bites.  I asked Older where her babies were and she said they were probably just at the woods line, too afraid to venture into the yard with me there.  It wasn’t until Ms Wobbly Raccoon turned to run away that I noticed her wobble.  Yep.  That was definitely her.  How special!

 

I was on the other side of an enclosure when Ms Wobbly Raccoon showed up. Here she is just coming out of the woods.

 

 

Here she is taking advantage of a free meal.

 

 

Finally, Older texted me on Monday evening that she was picking up two more raccoons.  A friend who knew “the right thing” to do called Older.  She’d managed to get a very young raccoon from someone who’d found three babies.  Two died, and this friend got the third so she could get it to Wild Angels.  The other raccoon she had for Older Daughter was one that had been kept as a pet and she’d talked this family member out of it so she could turn it over to Wild Angels.  If any of you are ever in a position to influence someone who’s found a baby raccoon, please advise them to get it to a rehabber.  They are cute and easy when they’re small.  But they become destructive very quickly.  This is when people don’t want them anymore but now they don’t know how to survive on their own.  It takes a lot of extra work to get a partially tame raccoon ready to be released.  SO much better if they are never kept as a pet for any length of time at all.

 

This little one is too small to be outside so he's inside where Older can tend to his needs.

 

 

This is the older one that was kept as a pet. She is enjoying a little splash.

 

 

 

See you soon.

 

What’s in a Name?

Thanks for your comments about the Wisher here named Isis.  Yes!  I named her for the Egyptian goddess.  And I liked what you said, Mary – “Don't worry - some of us (...) remember Isis as an important Egyptian goddess."   And  John , that “Egyptian mythology has endured for thousands of years; it will still be known for generations to come . . . "       All you have to do is look at her beautiful eyes to see how she got her name.

 

 

 

 

There are Wishers with names that were chosen simply because they were cute.  But there are some, like Isis, with names that were given for specific reasons.  I mentioned Theo last week.  It took months to trap Theo.  I started calling him “the elusive one.”  Reader and Wisher adopter, Mell, offered that maybe his name could be THEO  because -  THe   Elusive  One.

 

 

 

Tinkerbell came from just outside of Orlando, Florida and her rescuer, Cheryl, wanted to give her an “Orlando-ish” name.

 

 

 

 

Sunspot - because of the one spot of orange right on top of her head.

 

 

Don't worry. This is from when she first got here. She was only in a cage until she acclimated.

 

 

Bunny - because she is white and has no tail. 

 

 

 

Then here in our house we have Peep.  He is the biggest cat on the property – coming in at 17 pounds.  But he got his name when he first came here as a tiny kitten.  He did not meow.  He peeped. 

 

 

 

And Pipes.  When he was a kitten, he made a very different sound when he spoke.  It was not a meow.  It was not a peep.  It was a rough little squeaky sound.  And he had a breathing/choking incident when he was tiny.  I had to rush him in to the clinic, and my vet said it seemed his larynx might not have developed at the correct rate.  Apparently, his “pipes” weren’t quite right.

 

 

 

So, sometimes there’s quite a bit  . . . .     in a name.

 

Ginny - THANK YOU.

 

See you tomorrow for a Wildlife update.

 

 

Geriatrics?

I’ve mentioned that I have an “aging” population of cats – both Wishers and our own personal kitties.   Geriatrics is that which deals with the health and care of the old.   Along with knowing that I have 40+ (between ours and the Wishers) cats to take through the ends of their lives, I will also be faced with more illness over the coming years.  And I seem to be getting a preview now . . .

You might recall the matriarch and patriarch of Winnie’s Wish – Isis and Quinn.  (I still find it unfortunate that I gave Isis her name BEFORE it was a bad word.)  Anyway, Isis and Quinn both have a lot of trouble with loose stools.  I have tried everything, believe me.  My vet and I have tried many things, and I have tried lots of supplements since the trouble began.   In addition, Quinn has recently started having skin issues.  Sallie is another Wisher who suffers from skin problems.  My vet and I tried some things with these two, but ultimately the only thing that seemed to help was steroids.  Of course, as you know, steroid use is not something you really want to do unless it’s the last resort – which it has been in the case of Quinn and Sallie.  But now – a seeming breakthrough.  I've never really had the option of feeding special foods to individual cats at Winnie’s Wish.  Cats live in different areas, different rooms.  But there are multiple cats in any one area.  However, I recently moved some cats around and managed to find a space for the overnight hours where Isis, Quinn, and Sallie are isolated from the other cats.  I changed their food to “sensitive skin and stomach” – both dry and canned.   AND IT’S MAKING A DIFFERENCE!  I’m thrilled to see improvement in their stools and in their skin.  Of course, it’s not handy to cart them into a special room each evening, and it’s definitely more expensive to feed them this way, but I’m really grateful for the improvement.

 

Quinn and Isis

 

 

This is an old picture of Sallie - haven't taken a pic since her skin got worse, but at least now she's improving.

 

 

Theo has had a history of urinary tract infections.  He had multiple UTI’s in the past, but he and Tinkerbell (his buddy) moved into a kitty condo (converted dog run) and have been in that area during daytime hours for quite a while now.  This way, I can keep Theo on distilled water and a special food for UTI’s.   During the overnights however, Theo and Tink are allowed out into the main area of that building along with many other cats.  I know Theo then has access to other foods and regular water.   Even in these circumstances, it had been a LONG time since Theo had had a UTI.  Until about a month ago.  He was doing fine one day, and then the next he was suffering.  I found him one morning in his litter box and nothing was coming out.  I know that a cat can get “blocked” and literally die within 24 to 48 hours without treatment.  He was rushed into the vet; she said she believed it was just an infection and he received medications.  Now in the past, I’d always given him a couple of supplements during UTI’s.  I put him back on those, and along with his medications, these things helped him onto the path of recovery.  But once the antibiotics were over, he was back to square one.  Back to the vet – this time for X-rays and bloodwork.  Luckily, no blockage, no crystals.  So we are fighting this infection again.  And now I am buying him “urinary tract health” canned food.  And I’m picking up everybody else’s food during the hours that he is out mingling.  Again, not ideal, but I’m hoping this will be our answer.

 

Theo

 

And speaking of UTI’s –  it was only a couple of months ago that Wisher Goldie had one.  Antibiotics and special food for her now.  I isolate her overnight and pick up all other food when she’s out and about. 

 

Goldie

 

 

Lots of special diets (which translates to lots of extra money – so THANK YOU to all of you who help out!)  Also lots of new routines. 

 

Then our own Peep kitty (who now weighs 17 pounds!) ended up with a UTI just a few days ago.  No reason to consider blockage at this point, but antibiotics and new food for him!  He’s not a geriatrics patient, but a patient nonetheless at this point.  Geez . . .

 

Peep

 

 

Maybe I'd be dealing with these things even if I didn't have an aging population.  I do know that getting older can definitely bring with it some special circumstances - not always entirely pleasant.  But I'll love these guys through thick and thin.  And I know those of you reading here completely understand!

 

Wildlife Wednesday – Wobbly Raccoon

You might remember that once upon a time, Older Daughter had a little girl raccoon who walked with a wobble.  It was the summer of 2018 and there were lots of baby raccoons at Wild Angels.  I no longer remember which group this little wobbly one was in.  It almost seems like she had a brother or maybe two siblings, I don’t recall for sure.  Anyway, Older knew from the preparation to release this group that the little wobbly one could do everything the others were doing.  She seemed capable of taking care of herself.  But it’s hard not to worry.  Wildlife don’t have it easy any way you look at it.  Older worried that this gal might find life too hard.

Then last year (2020) in June, a raccoon came up into Older Daughter’s yard.  Older was outside and watched as this one approached.  She talked to it assuming it was one of her own releases, and it came a tiny bit closer then froze.  As it started to run away, Older noticed that slight wobble.  She grabbed some food and started shaking the cup. The raccoon turned and started back in her direction.  She spilled out some food and moved away to observe from a distance.  The raccoon came to the food and WHAT?!  She had a baby with her.  In fact, there was another baby that never got brave enough to come all the way into the yard but stayed in the woods line.  Older Daughter was thrilled to have proof that Ms Wobbly Raccoon had survived and had been doing fine for the two years since her release.  She even had a family of her own.

Well, the story continues THIS summer.   It’s the time of year at Wild Angels when there are no wild animals in the outdoor enclosures.  The baby squirrels from early spring have already been released.  And the rest of the babies in Older Daughter’s care are still indoors being fed on rather demanding schedules.   However, since releasing the squirrels, that particular enclosure has been standing open.  Older always does this initially because sometimes released animals want to come back into their enclosures off and on until they are ready to venture out and completely disappear into the wild. 

Older was out near the squirrel enclosure when she was sure she heard movement.  She went to see if one of the squirrels was back even though she hadn’t seen them at all in quite a while.  MUCH to her surprise, one of the housing boxes in that cage was occupied.  Older couldn’t believe her eyes when she spied a momma raccoon and two babies IN that housing box!

 

You have to look close to see all three.

 

Since Older hadn’t been out to that enclosure for quite some time, she wondered if maybe this momma raccoon had given birth in that housing box.  If not, then for sure Momma moved her two babies there shortly after.     The next surprise came when Older discovered (after watching daily) that the momma raccoon going in and out to those two babies was   .  .  .   Ms Wobbly Raccoon!!   These past many days, Older has seen the babies playing in the enclosure and Momma going in and out. 

 

 

How wonderful to know that Older Daughter’s wobbly raccoon continues to survive and thrive; that she has a little family each spring; and that she still remembers home and feels that it is a safe place to raise her babies.

See you next week.