Happy New Year!

Here is hoping everyone had a safe and Happy New Year! May your 2015 be warm and fuzzy!

Merry Christmas!

May you all have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

A little video fun!

Well, now that things are a little quieter, I've had some time to go through some of the various videos from this past year. Some are interesting, some just darn cute and all of them will give you a little peak into raccoon life...so enjoy!

Early spring and summer is when all my local wild girls start to come out more frequently. Most of my time taking care of the crew in the outdoor pens, I am accompanied by them as they claim first dibs on whatever I have, or just like to hang around and follow me on my rounds. 

Belle is no exception. We've been through a lot together since 2006 and we will always be buddies.

She also tends to follow me on my rounds.....you know, just in case I'm holding back with something better for someone else! She's smart enough to defer to the bolder of the geese though!

The mom's with kits old enough to travel are out and about a lot too! This one has her hands full with 5 of them!

It is always good to see Dandy and her kits! She's a special girl who was lucky enough to have Dr. McGrath fix her up and make it possible for her to be released again! It's been years since her surgery and it's great to see her still doing so well.

No one screws with the raccoons around here either! For the most part, if the raccoons don't want the coyote near, they make it well known and are constantly chasing them off. This time of year, some of the raccoons are almost as big as the coyotes! I wouldn't screw with them either! You'll notice the skunk never even bats an eye! LOL

Seems like a never-ending supply of raccoons every year!

 The Winery babies needed a clean up after a messy bowl feeding. What better way to do it than make it a playtime in the tub!

Feeding time can be a little crazy and messy when starting to get some of them on solids.

After playtime, it's time to sort them out and get food down for the weaned kits and bottles ready for the non-weaned kits.

After eating, more playtime! It's always playtime as far as raccoons are concerned! 

 

 When Tilt came in he had a very obvious head tilt! By the time he was released, it was totally gone!

Already much improved here!

The Townsed babies were in very rough shape when they came in. Very emaciated and dehydrated, they were constantly sucking on their penises, causing additional problems. Nothing a little homemade raccoon onesie couldn't solve!

Fast forward and the Townsend Twins are re hydrated, have gained some weight and are more focused on having fun than sucking their penises!

Then we have Tuk. He had a little trouble fitting in out among the wild ones at first. Always getting beat up and relying on refuge here, meeting up with me like clockwork when I was out caring for the outside crew.

But it wasn't long before he found his niche out there! And I'm guessing the massive size he grew to had a lot to do with it! I don't see him everyday anymore, but he's doing well and finally taking care of himself.

Just a few of the many over this past season. Hard to believe all that craziness is gone now and most of the wild crew out there (including Tuk) have settled into less time coming out, and more time staying holed up safe and warm. Most of them I will not see anymore until spring, when once again, the nice weather brings them out to visit and spend time with Mom!

A little catch up...

Thanks to our wonderful friends at Whole Foods Melrose, Thanksgiving around here was pretty great for any of the gang that happened to be hanging around! It doesn't get any better than this!

 Tuk gave me a little scare. I was so used to seeing him every night, then suddenly I didn't see him at all! As it went on a week I became worried. Now I knew I would eventually start to see him less and less....just not so suddenly! I decided to take a walk out back one night and was thrilled to find the little fatty holed up in one of the den boxes left out there. Whew!

He's still happy to see mom, but he's officially a big boy now, acting like one of the wild gang. The whole gang has been pretty scarce lately, ever since the cold and snowy weather moved in, and he's been no different. He doesn't always stay in the den box either, but I pop down there to check, and run into him once a week or so and have a visit.

Things did not go so well for the last two young ones we had come in. I ended up having to euthanize the little boy I found out back while looking for Tuk that day. The rear legs were totally paralyzed and there was no chance of improvement.

Another youngster that Laurie had gotten in did not fare so well either. After a month of observation, she vaccinated her and moved her over here. We got her settled in and snuggled in a nice den box with a soft fur coat.Shortly after she began showing obvious signs of rabies. We ended up having to euthanize her and had her tested. She was, in fact, positive. Laurie has been keeping in contact with one of the vets at the rabies control program who is looking into the possibility of the rabies vaccine bringing it out if she was harboring it.

Very sad endings for two adorable youngsters.

There's been a lot of other activity out in the woods. The beavers are definitely back! Along with the familiar tail slaps I have been hearing again, they have been assisting me with clearing the paths and around the feeders. (Forgive the quality of the rest of the pictures...it was the best I could do in the pitch black with only my cell phone!)

Upon checking the empty feeders, I discovered this guy trapped in one of them. Seeing as it was pitch black out, I have him set up safe and sound inside for the night and I'll release him in the morning when he can see and it is safe.

While collecting the blue jay, a very eager flying squirrel did just about everything but run me over in an attempt to get to the feeder! It was adorable to watch because it really wanted to get to the feeder, but it didn't know what to think of me, so it kept running away then running back over to check things out, squeaking at me the whole time! I tried to get a picture, but zippy was pretty quick! Managed to get the tail end though, as it zipped up the tree one last time.

Ran into one last visitor before coming back in. Kind of hard to tell, but that's one of the possies hanging out up a tree, waiting for me to leave so it can come down and forage in peace.....or maybe hiding out after hearing the screech owls talking back and forth. (although, this guy was little, it was still to big for a screech I think.)

Otherwise, all is quiet on the home front for the time being....

Happy Thanksgiving!

Once again, we are thankful for all of you, our supporters. Without you we could not continue to help as many animals as we do! And thanks to Whole Foods Melrose, some lucky animals will be enjoying a Thanksgiving feast of their own!

We wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving. May it be filled with good food, good friends and family and good fun!

A little of this, a little of that.

So our boy Tuk is doing well. In fact, he pretty much thinks he is the boss and has taken charge of overseeing most of the operations out here! You may remember Tuk was one of last years babies that was raised as a single with way too much human contact. He came here to hang with the overwinters a learn to become a wild coon and get released in the spring. He eventually had to be separated from the girls with one of his brothers, and they actually ended up releasing themselves here! Easily recaptured, but it so was obvious both were just so ready, that I decided to let them be instead of wait to go with the rest to the other release site.

Times were tough at first for him. He would return with wounds and injuries after the locals started beating the crap out of him. Luckily he was here where I could keep an eye on him. For a while, I would be awakened by the fighting close by and would drag myself outside for an intervention. I would always find poor Tuk out at the end of some branch with no where else to run! Luckily all it took was me showing up with a flashlight to convince the bullies to leave him alone for the rest of the night. Eventually those encounters were less frequent and finally stopped. Tuk got big....really big! I think the tables finally turned on the bullies! LOL

But Tuk has not drifted off into the woods never to be seen or just showing up occasionally. On the contrary, he is quite the regular! Sometimes he sleeps in his old den box, sometimes he utilizes one out back in the woods. But he always shows up to say Hi. Sometimes it to get a treat, sometimes it is to inspect the Whole Foods delivery and sometimes it's just to make sure whatever I am doing out there is being done properly!

Inspecting the Whole Foods delivery.

What did ya bring me?

OK, these eggs are good enough for distribution!

Thanks for the cookie!

Let me see if you are doing this properly....hmmmmmmmmm. Looks good, don't forget to staple the wire on the front too.

The finished addition to the baby pen, Tuk approved!

It is a very exhausting job running things around here!

It just so happens that it is because of Tuk's habits that I ended up finding this poor boy out back in the woods! I never saw Tuk the day before, and he is way too nosy when I go out there! Now mind you, I know I am not always going to see him every day, and eventually I will see less and less of him.....but this was the first time and it caught my attention. So when I got home from work, instead of taking my time, changing out of my uniform and heading out to take care of the squirrels and check on things, I just grabbed a snack and walked out there. I have not been down the back of the property for ages since the cage out there has been empty and there has been no need, but for some reason I decided to poke around down there looking for Tuk. I even went so far as to walk further to the waters edge for no good reason. That's when I noticed this little guy at the base of a tree. I could tell immediately when I saw him try to crawl into the hollow of the tree something was very wrong.

He is just adorable as hell, and I am pretty sure he is one of the 4 late babies I've seen with one of the mom's around here. (Seen in the pictures below him). Sadly, I think I am going to have to euthanize him. He is dragging his hind legs and it appears to be trauma, not illness. I'll know more soon. At the very least, thanks to Tuk, he was not left to suffer scared and alone out there. He is on metacam for pain and inflammation, resting comfortably in a nice safe den box, with plenty of food and water.

Of course Tuk showed up in time to make sure I was treating the little guy properly!

Laurie and Lisa were able to attend the NY state wildlife conference last weekend. While they were gone I got to take care of these cutie pies for Laurie. They should be getting released soon!

Tuk isn't the only big fatty around here. Needless to say, it is not unusual to encounter any wildlife at any given moment around here, including right outside my kitchen window. This girl never missed a beat when I turned on the lights with the intention of letting the dogs out! Not positive, but it looks like Nile. (Amazon's sister, one of River's girls). She settled right back down and continued to eat all the birdseed. Yup, the dogs had to wait....all my kids get to eat. :)

Two of the three groups of squirrels were released. I was planning on opening the pen for the third this weekend, however the Nor'easter has put an end to that idea! Next stretch of good weather and they'll be off too!

The last group finally gets released!

At long last, the moment they have been waiting for! The last of this years babies were released Sunday and they are loving it! Of course the battery died in the camera, so I didn't get as many pictures. (Only about 30 LOL!)  Had to switch to the cell phone, so those pictures aren't as good, but you get the gist! Even got a little video of the gang enjoying some cookies, thanks to Whole Foods and the delivery Anthony brought by, just as we were heading out with the gang!

 Many thanks to Melody and Mike for another great location and for keeping an eye on the gang....and providing the "morning after" photo! ;)

Whew! At last we can breathe a little easier! Just a ton of squirrels to get released now!