Little Hands was only a few weeks old when he was discovered on the side of the road by himself. It was early June, and all of the local animal rescues and rehabilitators were already full.
“When you ask what you should do with [an orphaned raccoon], they say, ‘Leave it alone and let nature take its course,’ or ‘You can take it to a doctor and they will have to euthanize it,'” wildlife rehabilitationist Nikki Robinson told The Dodo. “That shattered my heart. That was not going to happen!”
While Robinson worked full-time, her mother, Linda, was semi-retired and could bottle-feed a baby five times a day. Linda unwillingly became Little Hands’ mother after Robinson made it apparent that grandkids were not on the horizon.
“She just sort of melted the first time she bottle-fed him and he gazed up at her,” Robinson added. “She was really kind to him early on since they want to be touched a lot.” So she formed a relationship with him, despite the fact that she knew he’d return to the wild at some time.”
Little Hands grew up strong, and by the end of the summer, was ready to strike out on his own.
“They get a soft release and go out on her property and live under the deck for a bit, and she’ll leave food out until they wander off and find their own way,” Robinson said. “But Little Hands remained friendly with the whole family and he was very kind and sweet with us.”
“My mother has a porch swing where she sits outdoors, and he would literally crawl onto the swing and sit alongside her, just wanting his butt and chin stroked,” Robinson explained. “He wanted his snuggles, then his meal, and then he’d go off.”
Little Hands has been living in the wild on his own for three years, yet he still returns to the house where he was raised only to cuddle with his mother.
Linda has taken in countless orphaned and abandoned raccoon babies that have nowhere else to go since Little Hands departed the house.
And, year after year, the raccoons she releases into the wild return for visits.
“Every day, she sits outside and waits, and even when they’re grown up, she just brightens up and she just loves it,” Robinson said. “They adore her — she’s simply Mom.”
Because of Linda, the little raccoons are able to live out their lives in the wild, but just like her human children, they know they can always come home to Mom for a snack and a hug.
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