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A walk through Wascana Trails turned into an unusual wildlife rescue after a baby raccoon appeared to follow a woman for help.
The Wildlife Rescue Society of Saskatchewan (WRSOS) says a woman was walking on the trails near Regina when a young raccoon began following her.
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“Our caller, Avery, was out for a walk at Wascana Trails, and she was followed by a little baby raccoon,” said Bonnie Dell, executive director of WRSOS.
“It came out of nowhere and it followed her for about 15 minutes or so.”
Dell said Avery waited to see if the raccoon’s mother would appear, but quickly realized something was wrong.
“She was hoping a mom would show up or something would change,” Dell said. “When she realized that this little guy was stumbling and having a hard time, she stopped and took a look at him.”
Dell said Avery did not touch the raccoon and instead called the WRSOS Wildlife Helpline for advice.
“She did the right thing by phoning our helpline, and she followed our instructions to the letter,” Dell said.
The young raccoon was weak, skinny and covered in ticks.
“He was absolutely covered in ticks,” Dell said. “She noticed that when she first saw him, and just really weak, so he’d probably been without his mom for a while.”
Dell said raccoons are usually strong mothers, making it unclear why the young animal was alone.
“They’re very good mothers, so we’re not really sure why this one would be out on his own,” she said. “They usually have several young at a time, so we can’t even speculate why he would be out in the middle of nowhere like that all by himself.”
The raccoon, believed to be about five or six weeks old, was eventually taken to Bandit Ranch Rehab, a licensed raccoon rehabilitation centre in Regina.
Hank the Tank, an orphaned baby raccoon found alone at Wascana Trails near Regina, rests in a blanket after being rescued and taken to a wildlife rehabilitation centre. The young raccoon is recovering after being found weak and covered in ticks. (Wildlife Rescue Society of Saskatchewan/Submitted)
There he was given a new name: Hank the Tank.
“He is doing really well,” Dell said. “He was put on medication for all the ticks, and they got most of them off of him, and he’s eating well.”
Dell said Hank is now playing with other baby raccoons at the rehab.
“It’s a happy ending to the story, because if it weren’t for her walking that day and knowing what to do, he wouldn’t have lasted much longer,” she said.
Dell said wild animals approaching people for help happens more often than many people realize.
“They do seek people out for help,” she said. “Even adult wildlife will do it quite often.”
Dell said WRSOS often hears from people who have wildlife show up near homes, including foxes, coyotes and beavers.
“Beavers do it, too,” she said. “We quite often get calls about displaced baby beavers approaching people for help, and pulling at their legs, trying to get their attention.”
In Hank’s case, Dell said the young raccoon was doing the same thing.
“He was pawing at her runners while she was standing there, trying to get her attention,” Dell said.
WRSOS operates the province’s Wildlife Helpline from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day of the year. Dell said the organization fields dozens of calls a day, especially during the spring and summer months.
“People are very invested in wildlife in this province,” she said. “They love wildlife.”
Right now, Dell said many calls involve fledgling birds learning to fly, as well as young animals that may appear orphaned or injured.
The key message, she said, is to call before touching or moving wildlife.
“Just please call us before you pick up wildlife,” Dell said. “Phone us first before you pick anything up or assume that it needs help.”
Hank is expected to remain in rehabilitation until the end of the summer, then be released back into the wild near where he was found.
“They get raised to a certain age in captivity and then released back to the wild,” Dell said.
Dell said young raccoons may look cute and friendly, but that changes quickly as they grow.
“They hit teen years, things change very quickly,” she said. “At that age, they really need to get back out.”
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