Three separate litters of raccoons were given too us this year. Each litter had its own situation where the mother was no longer available to raise her young, so we took over. The little raccoons make a lot of noise when they are hungry and we needed to feed them by bottle 5 times a day. Early on each raccoon grew with its own personality. The raccoons would stay huddled together in the warmth of a blanket where they felt most comfortable.
After a little while the raccoons eyes opened wide. We placed them in their pen outside where they had a lot of room to explore things like grass, branches, and of course their favorite the food dish. Now they were eating real food and no longer had to be bottle fed. They ate a lot.
The once small raccoons that we had once held in our hands our now fast and big and ready to take on the world. They no longer trust us which is a good sign that they are ready to go out into the world.
On September 2, 2006 all 5 raccoons were released back into Routt County National Forest. They were a little scared and hesitant at first, but soon were sniffing around and climbing trees. All 5 seemed excited to be back in their natural environment.
