Rancho Raccoon
helping wildlife stay wild, healthy and free!
Annua l N ew s l e t t e r
Volunteer Opportunity! Relocating “Nuisance” Animals....
We’re forming a new on- Discover why trapping and relocating
site assessment team, and wildlife is not only illegal in California,
we want you to be part but also ineffective and inhumane.
of it! Page 2
Page 2
Rabies and Raccoons
Here’s what you need to
know about rabies in
California raccoons.
Page 2
The Year in
Review
Rancho Raccoon has had a terrific second year.
Our website is up and running, our blog
(www.ranchoraccoon.wordpress.com), full of photos
and stories about our beautiful clients, is a big hit, and
as always we provided excellent foster care and
medical services to 20 orphaned babies, juvenile and
injured adult raccoons.
A Few Stories:
Our first success happened in May, when an
Orinda homeowner called in distress after seeing a
panicked mother raccoon run down a tree, leaving
four tiny babies in her nest. The homeowners
hadn’t realized that tree-pruning and cutting
should never be done in spring, precisely because
of the possibility of killing, injuring or orphaning
wildlife babies. We counseled the homeowners on
how to re-unite mother and babies, and by the
following morning all the babies had been taken to
their new home by their mother. What a relief! We
would always rather reunite healthy babies with a
Rancho Raccoon is a project of Yggdrasil Urban Wildlife Rescue
Meet the Volunteers!
Read what our volunteers have to say
about providing foster care for raccoons.
Page 3
One of the young Fairyland banditos, happy
and fat after a week in foster care.
healthy mother, because raccoon mamas are the
experts! The caring homeowners elected to put off
the rest of the tree work until fall.
The Fairyland Five were a rollicking little group of
five fat, healthy babies found in Oakland’s
Childrens’ Fairyland. They got some press for
holding up the Fairyland Choo-Choo a couple of
days after their mother disappeared, sitting on the
track and crying with distress. Thankfully, Rancho
got the call and before long we had corralled all
those lonely babies, who thrived mightily and were
1 www.ranchoraccoon.org www.yuwr.org www.ranchoraccoon.wordpress.com
Issue No. 1, Fall 2008
Help us help Wildlife!
Rancho Raccoon and
YUWR always operate on a
shoestring. Without your
financial donations, we
cannot continue to care for
injured and orphaned
wildlife. Please help!
Page 4
released as the most confident, aggressive juveniles
we’ve ever seen. Hurray for the Fairyland Five!
Hero’s Story
Young Hero was our most difficult case this year.
He was brought in as an emaciated, dehydrated
little 2-pound orphan, along with his brother. We
soon found that he also had a horrific wound on
his back. Somehow he had lost a palm-sized patch
of skin, and that’s a lot of skin on a tiny raccoon.
Hero had to be sequestered for a month to allow
some healing to occur in clean, dry and quiet
circumstances. Thankfully, his wound did not get
infected, and once it had healed enough, he was
returned to his brother and his new pod-mate, a
young female raccoon named Olivia. Hero’s
squeals of joy at the reunion were the nicest noises I
heard all season!
For more tales of our furry clients, please see our
blog, www.ranchoraccoon.wordpress.com.
 R A
New Volunteer Team!
Yggdrasil/Rancho Raccoon gets many phone calls from
people who have seen a wild animal who might be in need
of medical attention, or a possibly-orphaned animal.
This January, Rancho Raccoon is forming and
training a core group of excellent volunteers to go
out on wildlife calls and assess possible orphaned or
injured wildlife situations.
Our volunteers will make every attempt to find and
visually assess the animal’s state of health and need.
If an injured adult animal is involved, they will
arrange to bring the animal into care, either at the
veterinary hospital or at our main site in Oakland.
If the call involves possibly-orphaned babies, the
volunteers will try to reunite healthy mothers and
babies, or bring the orphans into care in case of
need.
This organized team approach will reduce the
numbers of orphaned babies of all species, while
ensuring that animals who need care get it in a
timely fashion.
All training and supplies will be provided by
Yggdrasil and Rancho Raccoon. The first training
will occur in January; look for more information on
the Rancho Raccoon and YUWR websites and blog,
or email Megan@ranchoraccoon.org to sign up.
The Facts About
Raccoon Rabies
The California Department of Public Health tracks
rabies cases by county in our state. Raccoons
accounted for FIVE of the approximately 2800 cases
of rabies reported in California in the past 10 years.
The sole raccoon case in the Bay Area occurred in
Novato last year as a result of a rabid bat biting the
raccoon. Bats, skunks, fox, and domestic animals
each account for more cases of rabies than raccoons.
Thankfully, there is very little raccoon rabies in the
Western United States. The Surveillance Data from
the Centers for Disease Control indicate the East
Coast of the United States is the area of main
concern for raccoon rabies. That being said, any
mammal can get rabies, and prevention is key to
protecting ourselves.
Rancho Raccoon is a project of Yggdrasil Urban Wildlife Rescue
N C H O R A C C
Rabies is usually passed to humans via the bite of a
rabid animal. Occasionally it can be transmitted if
the saliva of an infected animal gets into a fresh
scratch, break in the skin, or contact with mucous
membranes (eyes, mouth, nose).
Never touch or approach a wild raccoon, and
always wear gloves if you must handle any wild
animal, even if it is dead. Use a shovel or cardboard
to move dead animals. Be careful with all animals,
as they can harbor diseases and parasites other than
rabies.
Do not pet or play with baby wildlife
you’ve rescued. Lots of kind people rescue
orphaned wildlife, but the desire to cuddle
and play with the baby can mean
death for that animal.
If there is any suspicion of rabies, animals
that have been handled by humans are
euthanized and tested. It’s an absolute
heartbreak for everyone concerned when
healthy animals are euthanized because
of human ignorance.
If you see a raccoon that looks sick, (runny eyes and
nose, dragging legs, weak, seeming “tame,”) call our
hotline at 510/421-9897, your local Animal Care &
Control Department or Vector Control for advice.
Note: canine distemper, a virus common to
raccoons, that is NOT transmissible to humans, can
have similar symptoms to rabies.
Enjoy wild animals from a distance. Do not handle,
feed, or attract them. Place trash in secure garbage cans.
Never adopt or bring wild animals into your home.
Teach your children not to handle unfamiliar
animals, wild or domestic, even if they appear
friendly.
Keep rabies vaccinations up-to-date for all cats and
dogs.
Prevent bats from entering areas where they might
come in contact with people or pets. Check out the
CDC and Bat Conservation International websites
for further information about bats and rabies.
2 www.ranchoraccoon.org www.yuwr.org www.ranchoraccoon.wordpress.com
O O N
Sources: http://www.cdph.ca.gov/HealthInfo/
discond/Pages/rabies.aspx, http://www.cdc.gov/
ncidod/diseases/submenus/sub_rabies.htm,
www.batcon.org/
No Trapping and
Relocating!
Dear Rancho Raccoon: I recently trapped a pesky
raccoon who has been using the cat door. I dropped it off
in a nice park, with trees and a lake. Now I find out this
is illegal. What’s the problem?
The common idea that removing one or a few
animals will resolve a wildlife issue is a myth.
Removing one particular animal that is causing a
problem simply makes room for another animal to
continue the behavior. The effective solution is to
remove the attractant, or the method of entry. Pet
food, pet doors, new grass, ponds, open windows,
uncapped chimneys, all invite wildlife to come on in
and share the wealth!
California Fish and Game Code (CCR 679) states
that trapped wildlife may not be relocated. Trapped
wildlife must be killed or released in the immediate
area - defined in CDFG policy as the property on
which the animal was trapped.
Moving wildlife from one location to another is not
as humane as you might believe. Much of our local
wildlife lives in family groups for a large part of the
year, and has dependent juveniles into the fall and
winter. Rancho Raccoon is currently fostering
orphans too young to be without their mothers.
It can be fatal to remove a wild animal from its
territory into another. Wildlife is very jealous of the
resources in their territories, and do not welcome
new members. In their home territories, most
animals have enough knowledge of the area and of
the other animals in it to avoid difficult situations if
they want to. Not so in an entirely new territory.
Please, do not trap and relocate wildlife! Call our
hotline at 510/421-9897 for advice on dealing with
wildlife conflicts, or email me directly.
 R A
First Release: a job well-done.
Eileen Philips and Julia Earl
Eileen Philips works on her new rehabilitation pen.
Volunteers, the Heart and Soul of Wildlife Rehabilitation
The people who volunteer to care for orphaned and
injured raccoons are among the world’s most giving,
most patient and kindest. They work long hours,
sometimes around the clock, to keep these small animals
healthy and growing. They nurture, then back off and
allow the raccoons to develop as wild, confident juveniles
who have no need or desire for human interaction. To us,
success means watching a group of juvenile raccoons
disappear into the woods without a backward glance or a
thank you, and knowing they have had our best.
Here are some reactions to working with raccoons from
Rancho Raccoon volunteers, in their own words:
Shelley Ladd, 2d year volunteer:
"I live in a constant state of amazement at the
wondrous beauty and all the creatures, big and
small, that exist in our world.
I feel so lucky and blessed to have the opportunity
to give back to something that has given me so
much joy. Working with Rancho Raccoon as a
wildlife rehabber has touched my heart so deeply
and changed my life forever.”
“Dad” Ladd, 2d year volunteer:
“I’d like to tell you about one of the most rewarding
experiences of my life. My daughter and I decided
Rancho Raccoon is a project of Yggdrasil Urban Wildlife Rescue
N C H O R A C C O O
“At last, raccoons I can pet!” Dad Ladd
to volunteer at a wildlife rehab. Before I could catch
my breath, I found myself feeding 3 of the cutest,
most playful and lovable little critters I’d ever
encountered. This wasn’t just putting a bowl of food
in a cage -- Oh no! This was making a formula in 3
tiny baby bottles several times a day and night.
Then came the hard part, but also the most fun; I got
bottle-feed the cute little critters who screamed,
wriggled, climbed and grabbed at their bottles.
Once we fed the little guys, they would crawl
around for awhile and then curl up together and
drift off to sleep.
These three Raccoons were very young, only a few
weeks old. We measured their weight in grams.
They couldn’t even walk very well yet but they
could climb! This all changed fast as these guys
grew quickly. We had to try and teach them
everything their real Mom would so they could
survive in the wild.
I hope they are all okay and doing well. Getting to
know these wild animals and being able to help
baby animals that otherwise would have died has
been greatly rewarding. I feel that humans owe
wildlife everything we can possibly give them. We
are the ones encroaching on them. Thank you
Rancho Raccoon, for all I’ve learned, the great
experiences and range of emotions.”
3 www.ranchoraccoon.org www.yuwr.org www.ranchoraccoon.wordpress.com
N
Megan Isadore sets up orphan rescue
at Children’s Fairyland, Oakland.
Shelley Ladd: end of season cleanup.
Eileen Philips: 1st year volunteer:
“Becoming a raccoon volunteer is a lot of work and
a lot of fun too. I fostered two batches of 3 raccoons
each and they were all adorable animals. They need
to have their pens cleaned each day, which takes
about half an hour, sometimes a little more.
They love to play and even though they sleep a lot,
they have a definite play time. They are very
arborial and like to sleep and relax on shelves near
the top of their pen. They come down to eat and
they play all over the pen. Their favorite spot is their
swimming pool. They play in this constantly,
dunking each other and playing “lifesaving” where
one lies on his back in the water and holds the other
around his fat tummy from behind. They also spent
a lot of time jumping in their hammock, and on
their swing.
I got a lot of hilarious videos! It was very gratifying
to have little raccoons, but a little hard to see them
go when released. They were very happy to be ‘real’
raccoons though, so I know I did the right thing!”
Did you Know?
Raccoons love persimmons. Every fall
we gather unwanted persimmons and freeze them
for food during the next baby season.
Got extra? Call us!
 R A N C H O R A C C O O N

In Appreciation
Without your contributions of goods, services, talent and ideas, we would be unable
to provide such wonderful help to our furry clients. While raccoons are not an
endangered or rare species, each raccoon values its life as much as you or I do.
Thank you all for your kind gifts.

Non Profit Sponsor Individual Support Corporate Support

Yggdrasil Urban Wildlife Rescue, Oakland, CA Robert and Anne Carroll Colombo Bait
Terence Carroll Golden State Lumber
Foster Care and Transport Volunteers Anne Chen Humane Society of the United States
Julia Earl Annie and Paul Dolan Niles PetAg
Ladd Gilbertson Gina Farr Petco
Shelley Ladd Ceci Herrman Salmon Protection and Watershed Network
Eileen Philips Janet and Tony Isadore Barreca Scales Online
David Stacy Cindy and Richard Jordan Schering Plough Animal Health Division
Juanita Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue
Kim Keener WorldWise, Inc.
Veterinary Care
Mary Keydash
Andrew Sams Clinic
Pamelah McNeily
Montclair Veterinary Hospital
Ryan Monroe Special thanks to Terence Carroll, Lila
Carol Petersen Travis and Montclair Veterinary Hospital
Graphic and Web Design
Laraine Stein for going above and beyond for wildlife!
Lucie Duclos Design
Diane Valenti
Parisse Multimedia

Please consider us for an end- of-year Donation!

Donating to Rancho Raccoon ensures that we can continue to feed, vaccinate, provide warm Contact Us
and safe rehabilitation pens, get veterinary help when necessary, provide educational
programs, answer our hotline and rescue raccoons and other wildlife, as well as all the other Megan Isadore, Director
tasks we do daily to help keep wildlife wild, healthy and free. We are an all-volunteer
organization. Telephone: 415/488-1957
We always need cash to augment our Email megan@ranchoraccoon.org
donations of goods and services. Please
consider an end-of-year, tax-deductible Rancho Raccoon
donation. You may send a check to the PO Box 103
address at right, or donate through Forest Knolls
PayPal from our website. Thank you CA 94933
for thinking of us! It’s your help that
allows these beautiful animals to get the
www.ranchoraccoon.org
second chance they need.

Donations of goods are also welcome! www.ranchoraccoon.wordpress.com

Check out our website for a list of items
we need. Gift certificates to grocery www.yuwr.org
stores, pet stores, hardware stores and lumber yards are extremely helpful!

Rancho Raccoon is part of Yggdrasil Urban Wildlife Rescue, a California non-profit. Your
Photos by Terence Carroll, Megan Isadore,
donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law.
Maria Rodriguez, and Shelley Ladd

Rancho Raccoon is a project of Yggdrasil Urban Wildlife Rescue 4 www.ranchoraccoon.org www.yuwr.org www.ranchoraccoon.wordpress.com