Raccoon Release in the forest

This was so much fun! It gives me hope that these precious little baby raccoons were taken in and cared for since the spring. They were found in a brood of 7, orphaned in Smiths Falls, and taken in by Rideau Valley Wildlife Sanctuary. Only 4 survived. They have to be released within 15 km of where they were found, and that worked here! I am an avid watcher of Hope for Wildlife, in N.S. There are many who devote their time to critters. It doesn't matter where you volunteer, just do it! We volunteer with seniors, others work with children. It all works out!

First, one cage was opened. They were so happy to see a tree. Then, the 2nd carrier. They then ran from tree to tree, trying each one, moving along the forest. It was so joyful to see!

You can see from the video, they were trying to do selfies on the trailcam. They looked so happy! They will join Aethelred bear, the other raccoons (Butch & Sundance),  Jaws (our goldfish pond watersnake), the 3 coyotes and Bambi and fawns, our Barred owl family, and our porcupine.



At the end of the day, a rainbow. Hard to see, harder to photograph, but it was there. It was, to me, a sign. Then, overnight, we had 12.7 mm or glorious rain. I could imagine our raccoons dancing in the rain!


Further research shows that there was much controversy surrounding releasing of wildlife. McGinty's government decided that a mandatory release of within 1 km of rescue was the law. The front line workers and stakeholders (volunteers, wildlife groups), lobbied, since this was nigh impossible in big cities. They changed the laws in 2005. Rabies was the big issues, but they have realized that trapping raccoons in cities (like the event we saw in Niagara-on-the-lake), inoculating them and releasing them, prevents the spread of rabies.

Toronto, Wednesday, November 9, 2005: Actions by the Ontario Minister of Natural Resources, David Ramsay reached a new low when his staff posted regressive changes to regulations governing wildlife rehabilitators. This was done just days prior to the start of an international wildlife rehabilitation conference being held in Toronto this week.  Ministry staff tried to spin the changes as "a good news story" for rehabilitation.