Baby raccoon stuck in awkward position rescued by firefighters

• A concerned citizen had phoned in a weird sighting: a raccoon’s head without its body.
• When animal control arrived at the scene, they realized that a raccoon got his head stuck as he was going out of a sewer grate.
• They were able to free the little critter, who was released after getting checked out by animal services.

Michigan’s Macomb County Animal Control came upon an awkward sight earlier this month when they responded to a call about a stuck raccoon.

According to the concerned citizen who made the call, only the raccoon’s head was visible and its body was nowhere in sight.

When three deputies rushed to the scene, they realized what was wrong.

Animal Control Chief Jeff Randazzo told The Dodo, “The poor little thing was coming out of the sewer grate and his head got stuck.”

The officers carefully moved the metal plate onto the ground. By that time, the fire department also showed up to help.

Cutting the metal was not an option since it could cause the cast iron to heat up and harm the raccoon. They realized that the raccoon could only be freed by somehow getting his head out of the hole the same way he got in.

So the officers borrowed some peanut oil from a neighboring house.

The little critter seemed to know he was being rescued when his neck was coated in oil.

They gently twisted and pulled for about 20 minutes until they were finally able to free the raccoon.

The deputies brought the raccoon to animal control to get him checked out. He was also dewormed, vaccinated, and observed for two days before he was released back into where he was found.

Animal control had just saved another raccoon that same week. That one got his head stuck in a soup can.

Chief Randazzo remarked, “I think people are home more, so they’re seeing it and calling it in more.”

The chief observed that people have been appreciating the wildlife in their area more. He added that residents are more than willing to help or at least report to authorities when they notice someone in trouble. It’s definitely appreciated by these raccoons.

Source: The Dodo