Wildlife Rehabilitation: Returning Raccoons to the Woods

This baby raccoon is less than 3 weeks old, as indicated by its still-closed eyes. Raccoons are born with ear canals and eyes closed. At Millstone, rehabilitators feed babies a specialized wildlife formula, which varies by species, and young raccoons must eat several times a day. Until they are old enough to regulate their own body temperature, raccoon kits are kept in incubators when they are not being fed. Photos by Jackie Robidoux.

The calls come in day and night, from homeowners, people working in the woods, and passersby on dirt roads and busy highways. They’ve found an injured fox or an orphaned squirrel or a furry cluster of raccoon kits in the chimney, and they are wondering what to do next.

“First and foremost, if you find an animal in distress, call a wildlife rehabilitator,” said Jackie Robidoux, a wildlife photographer (and retired nurse) who has volunteered with Millstone Wildlife Center in Windham, New Hampshire, since 2021. “Don’t touch them, don’t feed them, don’t go near them – until you can get instructions from a licensed rehabber.”

Millstone, founded in 2015 by Frannie Greenberg, is a nonprofit wildlife rehabilitation center, licensed by the state of New Hampshire to work with mammals. (Obtaining a rehabilitator license requires specialized training, and it is illegal for people to keep or care for wild animals without a license.) Greenberg and her husband Michael lead a corps of more than 25 volunteers who provide round-the-clock care at the center, which may have upward of 120 animals at a given time, including injured or diseased adult animals and many young orphans.

When orphans come in, rehabilitators keep them warm, feed them specialized formula, and gradually move them from incubators to larger inside spaces and then to outdoor enclosures. Along the way, rehabbers provide a setting where the growing youngsters can learn to climb, dig, and do what they instinctually want to do. Working with a local veterinarian, Millstone rehabbers also vaccinate the animals in their care against parvo, distemper, and rabies.

Below are Robidoux’s photos of Millstone Wildlife Center’s work with more than two dozen baby raccoons during this past summer, a feat that required mass feeding solutions and extensive volunteer time. During this period, the rehabbers were also caring for scores of other orphaned animals, including cottontail rabbits, skunks, and opossums.

The goal, always, is to release these animals – grown and healthy – back to the wild.

“They belong in their own habitat – outdoors, as part of the natural ecosystem,” Robidoux said. “After dedicating your time and caring for these animals, seeing them run free fills the heart with true joy.”

Before taking in young raccoons, Millstone staff and volunteers try to reunite them with their mother if there’s a chance she is in the area. Wearing protective clothing and gloves, a rehabber places the kits in this “reuniting box,” with a warming device to maintain the animals’ body temperature. The box features a sliding door, which the mother raccoon, with her dexterous front paws, may open to retrieve her kits – but which keeps the kits safe from most predators.

As the kits get older, they require less frequent feeding, but they still like to eat together. In this photo, taken by Millstone volunteer Nancy Daniels, Jackie Robidoux feeds two kits, while a third one (who has already been fed) looks on. “We avoid as much human contact as possible,” she said. “But when they’re babies and we have to bottle feed them, we have to hold them. That’s just part of it.”

A volunteer devised this feeding station, which greatly reduces the hands-on time of rehabilitators.

Frannie Greenberg, who founded Millstone Wildlife Center, and her husband Michael Greenberg prepare a mixture of fruits and vegetables for the raccoons and other animals, which are gradually weaned off formula mix.

Feeding dozens of raccoons – and the many other animals in their care – is no easy feat. Raccoons get a mix of dog food, acorns and other natural foods, and fruits and vegetables.

The large outdoor enclosures at Millstone Wildlife Center include water features, climbing structures, and places to just hang around.

When it’s time to release the raccoons, generally when they’re between 20 and 24 weeks old, rehabbers transport them in crates to the release site. “The rule of thumb is to try to release them where they were found,” Robidoux said. “Unfortunately, a lot of these animals are found in a city – in dumpsters, in chimneys, in yards and neighborhoods where people do not want them brought back.”

“The release is such a joyful event,” Robidoux said. “Raccoons are so smart. As soon as we let them go, they are climbing trees or digging – looking for clams or crayfish, eating berries. They know exactly what to do.” This one struck a perfect pose as it returned to life in the wild.