Death of a tree, and new Racoon life.

[karen J]

A BIG Oak tree came down during a storm today, had to be at least 40' tall and a large circumference. Probably at least a 50 year old tree. Here are some pics. After surveying the damage I found an extra special surprise... scroll down.





The inside of the tree was rotted (heart rot) up to about 20 feet up-



The tree took down a couple of other trees on the way: Buckthorn, part of a Maple, and this Chokecherry.



A little closer-



 When we were out inspecting the damage, we found this:



Two baby raccoons! About 3 feet from the tree. They are so tiny, no bigger than 1 1/2 lbs each. I wonder if they were nesting in the tree and got displaced?  Maybe (hopefully) the Mom was scoping out a new site after the tree fell. I went out there after some time, and there was only one left. I'll go out there again to check. I hope Mom does not abandon the final one, but if she does we're up for the task.
The pic is pretty blurry, cuz I didn't want to get to close.

[Sandye]

Oh, Karen, I'm so sorry about the loss of your tree...but also thrilled about your discovery of the babies.  I hope the momma raccoon gets them moved to somewhere safe.   
Other than puppies and kittens, could there be anything cuter than a baby raccoon???   

[Indiana Karen]

They are adorable
We raised a couple little ones years ago when our kids were little.  They were so much fun.  We ended up turning them loose after spending a lot of time teaching them to catch bugs, minnows in the kids kiddee pool, etc.

Karen

[karen J]

Thanks, Sandye. I'm sorry for the tree also. It's always sad when that happens, but our house is fine and nobody was hurt. 

I spent the entire day at a Girl Scout function, just got home and we're exhausted! Those girls worked hard today (spaghetti dinner for 300 people). However, poor Kevin was charged with Coon care here at home and he did a great job. After a few unsuccessful calls to rehabbing outfits, I called a good friend who has some experience with raising them, and she was kind enough to come and help. They're too young for solid food, so she came over and bottle fed them every two hours. She even took them home with her for tonight. We'll share the responsibility.
I must have overlooked the second one that first time I checked, because there are two. One of them was pretty lethargic, but perked up after being fed a few times.

[Esther]

Sad about the tree but it looked pretty done in. But what a wonderful surprise to find the babies. Glad they have perked up and will have a chance to live now.

[El Jefe]

We had a similar situation where only one baby was found alive. It was covered in fleas so we used a kitten safe shampoo and raised him. We named him rosco. He had to be one of the coolest pets but they can get into mischief!


Andy

[Kittyzee]

Congratulations (not about your poor tree  :'( ) but about becoming parent of baby racoons!  They are easy to raise at that age and SO MUCH FUN!
I have a love/hate relationship with them, but it's more love than hate    They make the best tame pets, just remember when they are adults don't try to cage them in....mating instincts run strong in animals and they will become mean.  I'm speaking from experience here so maybe not all 'coons are like mine 

[miguynmkoi]

Very cute baby raccoons, but not in my yard.    I hope their Mom finds them a new home.  Those are great pics of the fallen tree.  Is this in your "yard"?  Looks like wilderness except for the little red structure.

[barb]

How sad for your tree, but what cute babies!  I guess after all this time the mom isn't coming back.  Please keep us updated, I'd love to see more pics of them growing up.