Why Raccoons?
“Why Raccoons?”
It’s a question we get asked a lot, with varying degrees of derision, incredulity and genuine curiosity.
I guess it’s a valid question.
As people see all that we do here: the money, the impossible hours, the stress, the all-encompassing workload, they start to realize that raccoons are a LOT of work to rehabilitate. More than most mammals.
Raccoons are not an exotic species. They’re not endangered. Many humans consider them to be a nuisance and pay to exterminate them.
I guess we must look kind of crazy.
Theoretically, I can defend the merits of raccoons in many ways. The traits for which the species is vilified are actually the very things which make them so amazing:
Raccoons are incredibly smart. Their high intelligence is well documented. In fact, it would be even MORE well documented if, in the 60s when they were being studied for their impressive intellect, the coons hadn’t kept figuring out how to break themselves out of the lab cages, ultimately leaving the researchers so frustrated they gave up!
Raccoons are survivors. Their cleverness, dexterity, curiosity and easygoing natures make raccoons extremely adaptable. Rather than becoming extinct in the face of habitat loss and human destruction, raccoons have learned just to roll with it. They’ve figured out how to co-exist in their ever-changing human-driven ecosystem. Their level of resourcefulness and adaptability is something to be celebrated, admired and imitated, not debased. I can only hope to be as resilient and empowered in the face of our environmental demise.
They play a positive role in the ecosystem, spreading seeds and reducing pest populations.
And let’s face it, as I said in a picture I drew for my Dad when I was a little girl: “All racoons are cute.”
Dedication and page one of The Great American Novel by Sarah Anne Holmes, age 8
Raccoons are mislabeled, misunderstood, and in general just given a bad rap. And I’ve always been one to champion the underdog.
But the simple truth, in my mind, the REAL answer as to why I devote every waking hour, every dollar and every dream to providing for their futures and their quality of life is simply this: raccoons are magical.
When I was first in training to become a wildlife rehabilitator, I was working with a variety of species. I love nature and all animals and I assumed I would become a generalist. Growing up in the suburbs, raccoons were one of the few species of wildlife I was exposed to as a child and I had always loved them. So I was excited the day that I knew I was going to get to handle my first raccoon, but I had no idea what lay in store for me.
That fateful day, the woman who was training me sent me over to a single kit in need of feeding. He was very young, but as I took him in my hands, he still realized that I wasn’t his usual caretaker. He turned his head and looked over at me and when our eyes met I actually felt like I had been electrocuted. My breath involuntarily caught.
I was in no way prepared for the level of intelligence that I found staring back at me. This raccoon kit was staring straight into my soul, sizing me up, evaluating me. I held my breath. I have never wanted so desperately to be accepted or to win anyone’s approval in all my life.
In those eternal seconds that passed, while I was waiting to see if I would be worthy and trusted, every piece of my soul and my life’s goals realigned. My path clicked into place before me. I didn’t know it then, but from that moment forward, I would go on to do anything and everything in my power, with every minute of my life, to provide for, live up to the expectations of, and meet with the approval of these incredible animals.
It strikes me now as not impossible that he brainwashed me.
Many hundreds of raccoons later, I still remember the flash in those eyes and the power of the connection that passed between us. That one little raccoon in that single instant outside of time served as a brilliant ambassador. His trust and ultimate approval set me firmly on my way.
In that singular gaze, my fate as a devotee of raccoons was sealed. I feel lucky and blessed to have been chosen to live in their service.
So, why raccoons?
Because they are smart, adorable, adaptable, survivors.
Because they are wise.
Because they are magical.
Because they demanded it of me.
And, most of all, because they deserve it.
- Sarah Holmes Bookbinder
Faithful raccoon servant, warrior class.
