Barrage of baby raccoons pushes northern Ontario refuge centre to its limit
When a mother raccoon is killed or separated from its litter, the cubs end up at a refuge centre near Sudbury
The Wild at Heart Animal Refuge Centre in Lively, Ont., is bursting at its seams with raccoons.
The centre, located a few kilometres west of Sudbury, helps injured animals get back on their feet.
But each spring, the centre turns into more of an orphanage than a hospital.
When a mother raccoon is killed or separated from its litter, the babies end up at Wild at Heart.
CBC Sudbury Morning North radio show host Markus Schwabe paid a visit to the centre and spoke to the president of Wild at Heart, Rod Jouppi.
He also brought his camera and shot this video.
The centre is currently looking after 45 baby raccoons — called kits or cubs, depending on who you talk to.
Each baby has to be fed every three hours or so. They also need to be burped and stimulated to defecate.
Jouppi says the centre is at its limit, and can no longer take any baby raccoons.
"Every wildlife centre that I know of is full and they can't take any more baby raccoons," he said.
Jouppi blames the situation on an overpopulation of raccoons in Ontario — where there are few predators, too much food, and relatively little disease to keep their population down.
Litters are also left behind when mother raccoons get sick, trapped, run over by cars, or killed by people, he added.
For those who do come across a litter of baby animals, Jouppi suggests giving the mother 24 hours to return, before taking any action.
If any new baby raccoons arrive at the wildlife centre, Jouppi says they have no choice but to "humanely euthanize them."
As for the babies that are currently being cared for, they will be released back into the wild.