Oakland Police Dispatch received a call this morning from a very worried citizen – there was a little raccoon with his back leg stuck in his fence and the citizen didn’t know what to do. Animal Control Officer Liang responded to the call. When he arrived, he found the juvenile raccoon dangling off the fence, upside down with his leg trapped. He was obviously in pain and exhausted from trying to free himself. The Officer tried to gently and safely push the raccoon up to see if the leg could be freed but the leg was wedged between a pipe and the fence and wasn’t budging. The raccoon was also very frightened and was trying to get away which only made the situation worse.
He called the Animal Shelter for assistance. We made contact with Lila from Yggdrasil Urban Wildlife Rescue Center in Oakland for advice. We came up with a plan to tranquilize the raccoon so his leg could be freed without struggling or pain. ACO Liang was joined by another member of OAS staff who brought tranquilizer. They carefully injected the juvenile with sedative with a long syringe pole. He soon fell deeply into sleep. They were then able to take a crowbar and open up the space. It was much more difficult to get the leg out then they had originally thought – but little bit by little bit they were able to pry the raccoon’s leg up and out of the crevice until he was finally free! They placed the little one safely in a box and transported him for veterinary care at Montclair Veterinary Clinic where he will then be transferred to Yggdrasil for follow up care.
The Little Raccoon with his foot trapped in the fence.
The crevice where the baby had been trapped.
The raccoon ready to be transported to Montclair Veterinary Clinic for treatment.
Yggdrasil Urban Wildlife Center is the only wildlife rehabilitation center in Oakland. Oakland Animal Services partners closely with the center to take all of the injured/sick wildlife that they take in and rescue. Yggdrasil is currently looking for a new base of operation in Oakland – please click here for more information on how you can help.
