"Lo, though nature red in tooth and claw..."

-Alfred Lord Tennyson, 1850

A message from a raccoon

Posted by MaryEllen On 6:10 PM

It's been a year now since I last posted here, a very busy year indeed. We survived a forest fire, I became VP of a wildlife rehab non-profit, and many injured and orphaned animals have made their way through my care and back into the wild. I did have one animal who was not releasable. Yogibear the raccoon was, from the moment I got him, 'slow'. He was slow to hit his basic developmental milestones - slow to walk, slow to climb... and he never reached the level of skill needed to survive in the wild. So, after trying everything I knew and consulting with other rehabbers, I decided to keep Yogi as an educational animal. All was well until last week, when I went on vacation and left him in the care of a housesitter, a person who was educated in wildlife care and management and even works at a local wildlife center. However, because Yogi was so tame and sweet-tempered, she let her attention wander one day and he ran away, into the woods behind my house. I panicked, sent frantic emails to neighbors - and my entire neighborhood mobilized to rescue my baby. After two days, Yogi showed up at a neighbor's house, hungry and lonely, and was brought safely home. Yogi made this video to thank everyone.

1 Comment

  1. Mary Cummins Said,

    Yogi looks fantastic! I can't believe he's rolling in a field of fox tails. Thanks for taking such great care of him.

    Posted on February 4, 2011 at 7:07 PM

     

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