Mother Raccoons Are Excellent Caregivers

Mother raccoons are highly attentive and devoted to their young. It’s common for baby raccoons to appear alone while their mother is foraging for food nearby.

If you find baby raccoons that seem misplaced, give the mother time to retrieve them.

What to do:

• Place the babies in a secure box or container with ventilation. Make sure the box is tall and secure enough to prevent the babies from easily escaping, while still allowing the mother easy access.

• Place the box near where you found them, ideally along a path the mother naturally travels.

• Leave the area and observe from a distance.

• Leave them overnight if necessary — mother raccoons almost always return for their young.

Intervening too quickly can unintentionally orphan healthy babies.

When Baby Raccoons Truly Need Help

A baby raccoon likely needs professional assistance if any of the following apply:

• The baby is crying continuously and has been alone for several hours.

• The mother is confirmed dead.

• The baby has visible injuries, or an animal attacked it.

• The baby is weak, lethargic, or covered in flies or fly eggs.

These situations require immediate action.

What to Do if a Baby Raccoon Needs Help

If intervention is necessary:

• Place the baby in a warm, quiet box with soft bedding.

• Wear gloves when handling to protect yourself and the animal.

• Keep pets and children away.

• Contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator immediately for instructions.

Do not attempt to feed the baby or provide water unless directed by a professional.

Never Attempt to Raise a Baby Raccoon Yourself

Raising a raccoon without proper permits is illegal in many areas. Wildlife laws exist to protect both people and animals.

Keeping a baby raccoon — even temporarily — can result in:

• Confiscation of the animal

• Significant fines

• Mandatory rabies testing, which requires euthanasia

What feels like helping can unintentionally put the animal at serious risk.

Health and Safety Risks of Baby Raccoons

Baby raccoons can carry diseases and parasites that pose serious risks to humans and pets, including:

• Rabies

• Distemper

• Parvovirus

• Raccoon roundworm (a potentially life-threatening parasite)

Even fleas and ticks can transmit illness, but exposure to roundworms is hazardous and requires extreme caution.

Why Human-Raised Raccoons Cannot Return to the Wild

Raccoons require species-specific care to develop survival skills. Without proper rehabilitation:

• They don’t learn how to forage naturally.

• They struggle to avoid predators.

• They fail to integrate into wild raccoon populations.

Only trained, licensed rehabilitators can provide the care necessary for successful release.

Why Raccoons Become Dangerous as They Grow

Baby raccoons may seem harmless, but they grow quickly. As they mature and hormones develop, even hand-raised raccoons can become:

• Aggressive

• Unpredictable

• Dangerous to humans and pets

You cannot train wild instincts out of a wild animal.

Give Baby Raccoons the Best Chance to Survive

The most humane and legal way to help a baby raccoon is to allow the mother to retrieve it or to transfer the animal to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator when necessary.

Taking these steps ensures the raccoon grows up healthy, safe, and truly wild — exactly where it belongs.