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Raccoon Boot Camp: Training Critters for Wilderness Survival
28 Sep
Summary
- Wildlife center trains raccoons to survive in Mississippi wilderness.
- Rescue aims to help sick or injured animals adapt to the wild.
- Graduation ceremony includes music and a blessing for released kits.
A dedicated team in Mississippi is running a unique boot camp to train raccoons for survival in the South Mississippi wilderness. This initiative by Woodside Wildlife Rescue focuses on helping sick or injured young raccoons, orphaned by various traumatic events, to develop crucial life skills. Paula Woodside, the rescue's founder, established the center in 2019 after rehabilitating a raccoon found on her ship.
The young raccoons, after initial indoor care and vaccinations, transition to outdoor pens on the rescue's 20-acre property. Here, they undergo rigorous training designed to mimic natural survival behaviors. Staff teach them to forage by hiding food, practice hunting through simulated quail hunts, and learn essential skills like swimming in shallow pools—a critical ability for the hurricane-prone region.
Further training includes navigating deep woods to evade predators and snakes, and a final lesson involving simulated trap avoidance. These experiences help the raccoons wean from human dependency. Approximately six months after rescue, the kits participate in a 'graduation ceremony' before being released into a different part of the property, ready for their independent lives.
