Andy & Mikey were so small when they were discovered that they still had the umbilical cord attached. We estimated that they were only 2-3 days old and had very little chance of surviving at that young age. Tiny wild babies are not generally able to thrive and require constant care. We had two two former volunteers take them in and make it their mission to provide around-the-clock love and care to these special babies. It’s easy to see why people would want to pick up and try to raise baby raccoons, but that’s the last thing they need. As the raccoons grew they faced challenges, almost dying, and could not be released to live a wild and normal life.

Raccoons are considered “rabies vector species” or potential carriers of the rabies virus, deadly and transmittable to humans. Thus, most raccoons handled by people will be humanely euthanized. It is extremely important to protect yourself and the animals and only trained wildlife rehabilitators should take on that task. We are very happy that our babies survived. It will be our purpose to make sure that Andy and Mikey stay active and entertained throughout their life since they are now confined to a habitat. They will share with our guests the uniqueness of raccoons, how they have to “wash” their food to start the digestive process, and that they use their hands much like we do. When they’re not playing with their “Busy Boards”, climbing their tree or playing in their pools, Andy and Mikey are just happy hanging out in the hammocks one of our volunteers made for them.