If you’ve arrived at this page directly, please first refer to Does This Infant Mammal Need Help?
Reuniting baby raccoons
Have you found a lost baby raccoon? Kits are typically born in spring and early summer, and sometimes – often because of human interference – they get separated from mom. When this happens, healthy kits should be reunited with mom. A healthy wild animal baby’s best chance of survival is with her. Place them in a box; put them in a quiet, dark, warm location; do not offer them anything to eat or drink; and gather the following supplies.
(If a kit is truly orphaned – for example, if you know mom is dead or gone from the area – call us for guidance.)
Raccoon reuniting supplies
Reunite Box. Use one of the following:
- A plastic dog/cat carrier with a metal door. You won’t latch the door, but you’ll close it and press it up against a tree or the side of a house. Mama raccoon will easily move the carrier and reach in for her babies.
- A plastic tote with a hinged lid. A mother raccoon can open the lid to get to her babies.
- A large cardboard box “sealed up” by taping newspaper or tin foil over the top. Mama raccoon will easily tear the newspaper or the foil open to get to her babies.
- A laundry basket or milk crate inverted over the top of the baby with a brick or a rock on top so that the baby cannot get out. A mother raccoon is strong enough to move a brick or a rock easily. (Use this method only if the holes in the basket or crate are small enough so the baby can’t fit through them.)
Heat Source. Use one of the following, paired with your Reunite Box:
- A heating pad (one without auto-shut off), set to low under the box. Run an extension cord if you need to.
- Hot Hand warmers. These can be activated and wrapped in fabric and set on the bottom of the box under soft fabric. Use more than one, especially if the box is larger.
- Rice in a sock heated for a couple minutes in the microwave and wrapped in soft fabric. This won’t maintain heat longer than a couple hours, so it is the least efficient choice.
Soft Fabric – something to keep the baby warm and feeling safe:
- Use fleece or T-shirt material rather than towels, since raccoon toenails get stuck in terry cloth easily.
Put the baby raccoons outside at dusk
You’ll want to have the babies ready to be placed outside in their container by dusk. Again, do not offer them anything to eat or drink. A hungry baby will cry out for mom, and this is important to get her attention.
Place the Reunite Box near where they were found, or where you believe the den might be. Leave it outside until morning. Keep people, pets, and other distractions and threats away so mama raccoon will feel comfortable coming and getting her baby. Do not repeatedly check the box, as this will keep mom away. A trail cam is a great addition if you have one and can set it up before dusk.
If the baby raccoon is not retrieved by morning, call us.
Thank you for helping Wisconsin’s wildlife!