Northern Raccoon Recovers After Car Strike

The following story about a northern raccoon was shared with us by Gold Country Wildlife Rescue in California.

This young northern raccoon came into Gold Country Wildlife Rescue in late September 2024 from South Lake Tahoe, California. He was found in the road, likely hit by a car. The finders found him circling in the road, barely able to stand, and knew they needed to help.

Upon examination at our intake center, our technicians determined this 5-month-old raccoon was suffering from severe neurological symptoms. It became very apparent that this raccoon was not able to walk due to the severity of his injury and was not able to eat. We began treatment immediately.

Our technicians started intensive treatment, syringe-feeding him for over two weeks while he made small improvements daily. Due to his weight being 1,800 grams (about 4 pounds and a good weight for his age), we used EmerAid IC Carnivore as supplementation to ensure he was getting calories while being unable to eat.

Slowly he began to stand, walk, and then started eating on his own, too!

He spent several weeks isolated in a quiet indoor environment until he showed us he was ready to join other conspecifics. He is currently still in care, combined with other raccoons, and will be released after our storms die down. He now weighs over 4,000 grams (about 8.8 pounds)!