vixxey: (TOP) We currently have over 100 orphaned raccoons over at the refuge!!!! Most of them are s
vixxey: (TOP) We currently have over 100 orphaned raccoons over at the refuge!!!! Most of them are still eating formula (we feed them KMR, which is kitten formula….out of all the commercially available formula on the market, this is the closest to their mama’s milk) and about a quarter of them are being weaned off the formula and onto a soft diet. The oldest orphans of this season have finally made it outside into our prerelease cages to habituate them to the outdoors (these little ones will be released to the county they were found in…a processs that generally takes anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months, depending on the needs of THAT particular group of raccs (their health and behavior are monitored vigilently from a reasonable distance so nethey receive very, VERY little human contact). (BOTTOM) One of our orphaned black bears upon intake back in late March and then a followup picture of the same orphan now. Due to their unique requirements, orphan black bears tend to stay with us for about a year….about as long as they would stay with their mothers in the wild. Don’t let that cute lil face fool ya though! Their claws and teeth are incredibly sharp and it is our policy that only our staff and extremely experienced volunteers (5-7+ years of experience) are allowed to work with them…even when they are still babes on the bottle. As of right now, we only have two super frisky black bear cubs because our older, yearling cubs have been released. ****If ANY of the above interests you in the slightest, I BEG you to go out and volunteer/intern for your local wildlife refuge or shelter***** -- source link