Last week, the folks at New England Wildlife Centers' (NEWC) Cape Cod hospital received a call that would typically send them running to help. In nearby Bourne, Massachusetts, a Good Samaritan found a young raccoon with his head impossibly stuck in a storm
drain grate and his claws clenched around the metal bars.
The young raccoon stared up at his rescuers in despair, with his face towards the sky and his back facing the storm drain below. Try as he might, the poor raccoon couldn’t squeeze his head out of the grate on his own.
Typically, the NEWC team would respond to such a call with medicine to sedate the raccoon at the scene before attempting to extract him. But they happened to be tending to three other emergency cases at their wildlife hospital at the same time and couldn’t run to the raccoon’s aid right away.
Still, there was hope. A community of first responders from Bourne Natural Resources, Bourne Fire Department, Bourne Police Department and Bourne Department of Public Works showed up to help and soon came up with a new plan: They’d carefully remove the storm drain grate from the ground with the raccoon still attached.
“[They] collaborated to get the entire drain grate and raccoon transported to us as one,” NEWC wrote on Instagram.
The first responders’ plan worked, and they were soon on their way to NEWC’s wildlife hospital with the little guy and his giant metal collar in tow. When they arrived with the raccoon and storm drain in one piece, the NEWC crew couldn’t believe just how much the sweet boy had already endured.
“We did not know how long he had been stuck like that and could only imagine how exhausted and scared he was,” NEWC wrote.
The team quickly sedated the raccoon in the parking lot and began removing his head from the grate as gently and creatively as possible.
“We used canola oil and plastic garbage bags to reduce as much friction as possible to get his head to fit back through the small grate holes,” NEWC wrote. “It took a couple tries, but within 10 minutes we were able to free him.”
A wave of relief washed over the NEWC crew when the raccoon’s head finally popped out. While he slept, the veterinary team gave the raccoon a thorough checkup, as well as fluids to combat his dehydration and medicine for inflammation.
Then, he started to wake up. And the team caring for him held their breath, waiting to see signs that he was OK.
“As he was coming to, he started to move around, and we could see he was able to move all his limbs and neck appropriately!” NEWC wrote.
The raccoon kept wriggling as the sedative wore off. And once he was awake, he was as active and playful as any other young raccoon, seemingly unaware of the entire ordeal.
The folks at NEWC hope to see the raccoon make a full recovery soon and look forward to helping him return to the wild one day. Until then, they’ve moved him into one of their outdoor enclosures and continue monitoring him daily for improvement.
You can see more images and videos from the raccoon’s rescue here:
Although cases like this raccoon's aren’t necessarily rare for the experienced wildlife rescuers, they often have their hands full with other emergencies. So, they’re beyond grateful that this little guy survived thanks to the group of first responders who refused to leave him behind.
“Wildlife rescues don’t always happen with one person or one team,” NEWC wrote. “This one took a whole community working together, and we’re grateful to everyone who helped get this little guy the care he needed.”
