10/01/2026
We’ve been saving this story for Raccoon Appreciation Day (October 1st) because we truly believe these clever, resilient animals deserve our appreciation and compassion, and sometimes even a bit of help💚
This particular rescue involved a lot of help from a lot of people and was truly an example of how it takes a village-in total, there were three compassionate good Samaritans (none of whom knew each other), and eight Wildlife In Need PA volunteers from across the state (many of whom had never met in person).
The story began on a hot Thursday back in July when WIN received a call about two baby raccoons that were in the wheel well of an SUV that was parked at an Elementary School in Beaver County. It had begun to rain, the sun was moving down the horizon, and there was only one car left in the entire parking lot when our volunteer arrived an hour later. The woman behind the wheel had no idea that just an hour earlier, two baby raccoons had been spotted on the wheel well and under her car.
One baby was seen standing on the back driver’s-side wheel, and it was quickly contained, but the second baby was nowhere to be found. The trunk was popped, as was the hood, and the engine block was thoroughly examined, but there was still no sign of the second baby. After 30 minutes of searching, the volunteer asked the woman to call back in the unlikely event that the baby was still somewhere in her car.
The following afternoon, she called to report that the second baby was seen standing on the driver’s-side back wheel. Somehow, the little one had survived the journey from the school to her home, which was a 12-minute drive-with no injuries! This little guy or girl was not nearly as easy to contain as their sibling the day before. After 35 minutes, they were finally flushed out of the engine block, and the volunteer was able to capture them safely.
Once the two siblings were reunited, the volunteer drove them to Forest Friends, where they would get the love and care that they so desperately needed and deserved. Two days later, another call came in from a different school employee, who reported successfully containing two more orphaned raccoons from the school property!
Our volunteer drove back to Beaver County and picked up the third and fourth babies, with the hope of reuniting all four. Unfortunately, Forest Friends was beyond capacity and did not have the space for even two more babies, and so, after so many phone calls and text messages, it was decided that the third and fourth siblings would have to go to Pocono Wildlife Center, one of the only rehabs in the entire state still accepting baby raccoons at that time.
A team of dedicated volunteers worked together to coordinate a route then transported these babies across the state to the Poconos. We are beyond grateful to all of the people and rehab centers that were involved in the rescue of these four raccoons. It truly takes a village.
Many people don’t realize that raccoons act as natural pest controllers through their hunting of mice and other small rodents. They also act as seed dispersers and scavengers that help break down organic matter. We don’t know why these four babies were on their own in that parking lot, but it’s possible Mom was trapped by someone who saw her as a “nuisance animal” - and that couldn’t be further from the truth.
On Raccoon Appreciation Day, we hope to encourage people to see raccoons in a positive light. While they may not always be understood, they are an important part of our ecosystem—and helping these four little ones gave us a chance to protect not only their lives, but the role they will continue to play in the natural world.💚
