Baby Raccoon!

            My youngest, Colin, a friend, and myself went to the canyon.  Asher and Beckette were at a cub scout campout with their dad.  The three of us camped next to the river, and its bubbling song was the backdrop to the crackling fire and roasting hotdogs.

            That evening, we went for a short hike. On our return trip, we ran across a baby raccoon.  The first thing Colin wanted to do was pick it up, but I kept him away.  I thought perhaps its mother was somewhere nearby, and we didn’t want to interfere.

           

The next morning, a scratching at my tent woke me up.  I unzipped it, and there was our little raccoon.  She was very far from where we’d seen her last. Of all the sleeping families in the area, she'd chosen our tent to burrow under.  Shivering and stiff, she was unable to really walk or move anymore.  Mom was obviously not around, and we couldn't leave her to the elements.  We warmed the baby by the fire, and brought her home with us when we packed up that night.

           

            We called her Maggie Mae, and fed her out of a tiny kitten bottle.  Colin learned to roll his R's to purr like Maggie, and Maggie adopted him as her new daddy, following him around like a particularly devoted puppy.  It took a week for us to find a rescue that would take the baby over the winter.  Maggie would live with other feral, rehabbing raccoons until spring time, forgetting about people, and learning how to be a raccoon again.

            She was adorable, and it was tempting to keep her as a pet.  But she was part of nature, and that was where she belonged.  It was painful to surrender her to the rescue. We miss Miss Maggie Mae, but we hope she quickly forgot us.  Fear of people is the only thing that will keep her safe.