By Carolyn Flaherty

    The Nature Center is harboring a masked gang! There is Rascal, a fugitive from Illinois, Meeko, a.k.a. Boomer, and a couple of homeless characters that go by the monikers, Charlie and Rosie.

    Meet the raccoons. They are quite the bunch, bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and full of mischief. Caring for this gang of miscreants can be a handful, or perhaps we should say “armful.” On a recent sunny Sunday afternoon, visitors watched animal caregiver Don Duncan who was in one of the animal enclosures. What was he wearing on his head? Was that a raccoon hat? No, Duncan was just making an attempt to give the two young raccoons fresh water and food. It was a difficult task at best because Charlie was perched on Duncan’s head, nibbling on his ears, while Rosie was scrambling around his shoulders, both vying for his undivided attention. Orphaned last spring, the youngsters are still in the bonding-with-their-caretaker stage.

    DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. RACCOONS DO NOT MAKE GOOD PETS.

    While raccoons are simply the cutest, most adorable animals, especially when they are young, they eventually grow quite large and armed with sharp teeth. Even in a nurturing environment, raccoons can become very aggressive when they grow older. For example, the Center’s oldest raccoon, 4-year-old Rascal, has been known to bare his teeth and growl menacingly when he’s feeling grouchy. And Rascal was the best baby. When he was orphaned after his mother and littermates were all killed alongside a highway, a kind-hearted trucker rescued him and brought him to the Nature Center. Every three or four hours Ruth Brown fed him with a little bottle filled with nourishing goat’s milk. Rascal thrived as did Meeko, another orphaned raccoon.

    Meeko was brought to the Center two years ago by Dave Pauli from the Humane Society of the United State. The Center’s staff affectionately call him Boomer and he is quite the personality. He still enjoys being held and patted and can be observed giving Duncan little raccoon smooches when he cares for him.

    The newcomers, Charlie and Rosemary, were also orphaned and attempts were made to raise them as pets. When it was soon learned that raccoons do not make good pets, they were eventually brought to the Nature Center. “I don’t think that Charlie knows that he is a raccoon,” said animal caregiver Jenny Jones. “He has one of the best temperaments I’ve ever seen in a raccoon.”

    These raccoons live a good life. They’re fed a fresh egg every day to keep their coats shiny, fruit (red grapes are the favorite) fish and shrimp. They especially relish a nutritional treat called Greenies SmartBiscuit. The Nature Center received a generous donation of Greenies, but the supply is running short with only a few boxes left in the barn. So if you’re wandering what you can get your mom for Mother’s Day, May 11, why not donate a box or two of Greenies in her name. There are four motherless raccoons at the Beartooth Nature Center who would appreciated this generous gesture.

    Plans for the future of the Masked Gang include moving Meeko near the other three and forming some kind of a tunnel arrangement connecting the three enclosures.

    Take a spring break and take a walk on the wild side at the Beartooth Nature Center. There is a lot of construction going on including new enclosures for the two mountain lion cubs and for BlueBeary, the black bear. Her new den mate, Bo, will be arriving soon.

    And if you have the need to celebrate spring by getting down and dirty, Clare Witcomb and her gardening crew can certainly use the help as they prepare the Nature Center’s grounds for the growing season. There are hundreds of flowers, shrubs and trees that need some nurturing too.

END NATURE