Raccoon Rescued from Town Garden
A raccoon has been rescued from a tree in a garden in Dorset after a
surprised couple found it while bird watching.
David and Ena Webber, who live in Walcott Avenue, Christchurch,
spotted the animal on Saturday morning.
They called police, who said they had no reports of a missing raccoon,
and then the RSPCA, which collected it.
The charity said it did not know where it had come from but said the
animal was in good condition and was probably someone's escaped pet.
"We were trying to do the RSPB birdwatch this morning when we spotted
it at about 10 o'clock. We thought it was a cat.
"Well, cats and birds don't go together so I fired the water gun at it
and its little face came out and it just looked at me and said, in no
uncertain terms: 'Stop I want to go back to sleep'.
"It wasn't impressed at all.
"It had such a cute little face. It stayed in the same tree, on the
same branch and didn't move. It was fast asleep.
"It's a total mystery, nobody knows where it's come from. Police told
us they had no records of a missing raccoon."
Katie Geary, RSPCA spokeswoman, said it was unusual, but not unheard
of, to find an escaped raccoon.
She said: "The officer tried to use an apple to coax the animal down
but it failed so he used a grasper around its middle to gently get it
down from the tree.
"Raccoons are semi-nocturnal animals so it was very sleepy.
"It was in a very good condition. It was about 10kg (22lb), the size
of quite a large cat.
"We think it's owned by someone in the local area so if someone has
lost a raccoon they should contact us."
The raccoon is being cared for at a local RSPCA rescue centre.
Anyone who has lost a raccoon can contact the RSPCA on 0300 1234999
and leave a message.
BBC News: 24th January 2009
