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Blame the Babies!
Yes, yes, I know that this month's eNewsletter is late! It's not my fault: blame the babies! Since we sent you the last eNewsletter Wild Things has admitted about 75 new patients, many of them babies. Babies are adorable, but need A LOT of TLC! Also, many of them who arrive at Wild Things have been separated from their mother for days and are in very dire condition. It often takes an hour or more just to clean up the little ones, and often many days to get the rehydrated and strong enough to take full strength formula. And, if they are baby raccoons, like "FuzzBall" (pictured above) they can SCREAM their little head's off until you attend to them!
"FuzzBall," as his finders named him, was the first raccoon baby to arrive at Wild Things this year. He was born in the middle of May and was only a week old when he was separated from his mother. The finders knew that there had been raccoons in their attic and assumed that this little baby, who was discovered in their flower bed, was probably one that had been separated from that litter. Being responsible wildlife heroes, the finders kept him in a little box near where he was found to allow the mother to retrieve him. When babies are separated from their mothers, the moms will usually do anything to come back for their babies.
But after 36 hours no MamaFuzz showed up. Who knows what happened. Did something happen to her? Was FuzzyB from a different litter altogether? Did she have too many babies to care for and decide to leave one behind? Or was she perhaps a first time mother and still learning all the nuances of motherhood, like how you mustn't forget your children in people's flowerbeds? We will never know for sure. But FuzzBall now has a good home at Wild Things.
This picture was taken soon after he arrived; he is perhaps 2-3 weeks old in this picture, about the size of a human hand. He looks like a little angel in this picture, but he can be a terror! I don't think I've ever had a baby racoon who cries so much and wants so much attention. I've even wondered whether the mother left him because he was drawing attention to the nest and jeopardizing his family.
I have been worried that something is wrong with him, but he seems all fine, and calms down if you take time to hold him....and loves his bottle.
Wild Things Sanctuary is one of the only rehabilitation centers in the area that are licensed to admit raccoons. In New York State, raccoons, skunks and bats are considered "Rabies Vector Species." Though all animals, including humans, can have and transmit rabies, raccoons may carry the virus without showing any signs of the disease. However, and this is very important, animals are not contagious until they start showing symptoms of the disease...but more on this in another newsletter perhaps! Foxes, skunks, raccoons, groundhogs, and bats are all "RVS" animals, but NY State specifies RVS as only raccoons, skunks and bats.
Every spring I have a terrible crisis of conscience as I receive more calls concerning orphaned RVS species than I can possibly handle. (And the fact that I'm allergic specifically to raccoons- how's that for irony!- doesn't help either!). Do I take that extra litter? But then the ones that I already have won't get fed on time or have proper care, and what about the other bunch of little ones who all came in close to death and need a lot of extra time and care?? But the people have already called so many others and no one will accept these babies, should I??? It's tough making these decisions!!
I became licensed to take RVS species so that I can admit and triage any animal that is in trouble, including these species. But in reality I cannot rehabilitate all the RVS animals that I get calls about. There is no time and it is expensive. Raccoons in particular require a lot of care and are much more dependent on their adoptive "mother" than skunks and bats. Many veterinarians are also unlicensed, unwilling or too busy to help with RVS species. Wild Things is grateful to the vets who have been able to help the RVS patients here.
(Click on the image above to hear what raccoon purring sounds like!)
Why don't more rehabilitators become licensed to work with RVS species? Well, in NY state, RVS rehabilitators are required to have additional training, special caging, and a rabies vaccination (can cost well over $1000) that must be titred every two years. Our facilities must be inspected by the USDA. Separate logs must be kept for each RVS animal. RVS rehabilitators are supposed to pick RVS patients up, even if hours away, and because all RVS animals are required to be released from where they came, we often have to drive them back "home" as well. Finally, we must be registered with all Heath Departments in the counties from which we accept RVS animals. This all requires a tremendous amount of money and time, and to top it off, bringing up more than even a litter of little mischievous raccoon babies can drive anyone half crazy!
Wild Things does its best to help as many animals as we can. We have no staff and only a handful of volunteers under one rehabilitator who help with the animals. Of course, the volunteers are not permitted to handle RVS species, but they can help look after other patients. As the lone rehabilitator, I am also responsible for all phone calls. Please forgive me if it takes a while to get back to you. Don't blame me: blame the babies! At this time of year I know that that can happen, but I will call you back. If I can't take your animal I will try to help you find another rehabilitator. Presently I feed animals from 6-9, work at my fulltime job 9-6 (thanks to the volunteers this is possible, though I often have to return mid-day to work with RVS species), and feed animals again from 6-past midnight. In the last month I've received a few hundred phone calls; so be patient and take a look at the Wild Things website while you are waiting. You may find an answer to your question here, and there are also links to directories of rehabilitators all over the country on the "What to Do if you Find an Injured Animal" page.
ANYWAY, FuzzBall is now about 6- weeks old and doing great! He is a lovely blonde color and is very fuzzy. Because he came in alone as a "singleton" I wanted to put him with other raccoon babies, despite the fact that we are supposed to keep different litters separate (in case they may be sick or harboring rabies). But after isolating him and another litter (whose tree was cut down and their mother and sibling killed by the chainsaw) and confirming that they are very healthy, I recently added him to the others and he is very happy to be with his new brothers and sisters.
And PLEASE REMEMBER that no matter how adorable Fuzzy is in this picture, he is a wild animal, NOT A PET. Please do not try to keep baby wild animals as pets. It will end in heartbreak for everyone. People and domestic animals can get hurt and sick. Wildlife babies will suffer physically and behaviorally. Call a licensed wildlife rehabilitator- for directory of rehabilitators in your area, click here.
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