Orphaned Baby Raccoons Rescued In New Canaan

NEW CANAAN, CT — Three orphaned baby raccoons were rescued in New Canaan this week thanks to the combined efforts of New Canaan Animal Control, the New Canaan Fire Department and a concerned resident.

According to Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm, she received a call Tuesday from a resident who said she had found baby raccoons at the bottom of a tree on Main Street. The resident also spoke with Wildlife in Crisis in Weston, who suggested she feed the babies to give them some nourishment.

"Baby raccoons should never be alone, especially that young," Halm said. "Mom would always be with them, so the fact that they were on the ground was an indication they were orphaned."

Halm spoke with the resident again the following morning, who said she had only found one baby raccoon left, which she drove to Wildlife in Crisis. Animal Control officers responded to the area to look for the two remaining siblings and eventually found the small animals about 25 feet up in a tree.

Firefighters were subsequently called in to help rescue the orphaned babies from the tree.

"They were really terrific in getting that ladder we needed and grabbing the raccoons," Halm said. "Actually one raccoon was a jumper. He fell out and kind of fell on the ground, but he was fine."

After being rescued, the babies were reunited with their sibling at Wildlife in Crisis.

"They are a great organization that takes thousands of animals in," Halm said. "We rely on them heavily this time of year because of the orphaned and injured animals we find on a daily basis."

According to Halm, most animals like raccoons have their babies in the spring, making this time of year a period where these situations occur often.

"Sometimes it's a situation where someone sees a big raccoon on their property, gets a little panicky, sets a trap and catches that raccoon," Halm said, "then two days later they find two baby raccoons."

Halm said the rescued raccoons were about the size of small kittens, about four-weeks-old and "way too young to be alone." She also has received good news from Wildlife in Crisis about the raccoon trio since the rescue.

"Last I heard they were getting nourishment and doing very well," Halm said.