CritterChatter™ Blog
Saving Baby Raccoons
This past spring at Critter Control, we found ourselves on a roof This past spring at Critter Control, we found ourselves on a roof saving baby raccoons from the inside of an uncapped chimney.
Raccoons generally like forested areas – and while neither Nebraska or Iowa offer too much of that, raccoons are abundant in the eastern portion of the state of Nebraska and are also fairly prominent near rivers where more trees grow (the Missouri River in both Nebraska and Iowa).
This particular instance happened during the raccoon’s primary littering season, when mother raccoons are looking for safe places for their babies. Studies in Iowa show that survival of young raccoons in the Midwest from birth until September is about 65 percent, so safe nesting areas are critical for keeping babies alive.
The home in these photos happened to have a chimney with no cap – like a safe, hollow log for a raccoon. This is ideal territory for shelter.
We needed to force the mother out of the chimney and into a live trap; and once she was caught, we were able to reach in and remove the babies from inside. Of course, we also added a cap to the chimney to prevent this from happening again.
The raccoons were transported to a wildlife rehabber who was able to relocate the family together, safely.
