Nobody wants a raccoon family living under their deck, but relocating the pesky critters can be a death sentence for the mother and her young.

At the Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre in Metchosin, six orphaned raccoons babies are living in an incubator. TheyB次元官网网址檙e small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and need to be bottle fed until theyB次元官网网址檙e old enough to find food on their own. It can take weeks or months to rehabilitate a young raccoon before itB次元官网网址檚 released into the wild, and if last year is any indication, the centre will see at least 100 pass through its doors over the course of the summer.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a huge strain on our resources,B次元官网网址� said Wild ARC administrator Angela Kendall, one of the few paid staff at the centre. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 frustrating because these are animals that could have been raised by their mothers, had someone not interfered with them.B次元官网网址�

Often the babies are bought in by homeowners who blocked off the hole a raccoon mother was using to get under a deck or into a shed, not realizing its young were there until itB次元官网网址檚 too late.

B次元官网网址淭he mother sees the entrance blocked and doesnB次元官网网址檛 know her babies are still in there, so she ends up abandoning them,B次元官网网址� Kendall said.

Jeff Krieger of Alternative Wildlife Solutions specializes in humane removal of unwanted wildlife.

When he clears out a raccoon den, heB次元官网网址檒l put the babies in a box with a heating pad and wait for the mother to retrieve them, a technique he learned as a volunteer at Wild ARC before starting his own business.

B次元官网网址淩accoons have a 15 kilometer range, and they keep multiple dens in that area,B次元官网网址� he explained. B次元官网网址淲hen you block off one den, they just move the family to another one nearby.B次元官网网址�

ThatB次元官网网址檚 the right way to get rid of raccoons. The wrong way is to trap them and dump them in another area. ThatB次元官网网址檚 not only illegal when done without a permit, itB次元官网网址檚 also likely to kill the animal, according to Kendall.

B次元官网网址淩accoons are territorial, and they learn to find food in a specific area,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淪cooping them up and dropping them in a new area is like putting a human in a place where they donB次元官网网址檛 speak the languageB次元官网网址攖hey know thereB次元官网网址檚 food around somewhere, but they donB次元官网网址檛 know how to find it.B次元官网网址�

She also stressed that for people who have problems with raccoons, relocating the animal is only a temporary solution.

B次元官网网址淲hatever attracted the first raccoon there is going to keep attracting more in the future, unless you fix the root of the problem,B次元官网网址� Kendall said, adding that raccoons are unlikely to become pests when garbage and compost is properly contained, and if properties are kept in good repair so raccoons canB次元官网网址檛 make dens where they arenB次元官网网址檛 wanted.

Kendall encourages people to call Wild ARC for advice on keeping raccoons or other wildlife off their property or to find out the best way to remove unwanted animals.

The centre can be reached at 250-478-9453.

news@goldstreamgazette.com