Watch the Dramatic Ocean Rescue of a Poor Baby Racoon
Well done to this kayaker for rescuing a baby racoon who had completely misjudged their swimming adventure. This wholesome footage was captured off Big Pine Key in Florida and has a happy ending!
What Is Floating in the Water?
The video starts with the kayaker shouting “What the hell is that thing?” At this stage, it is too far away for us to tell but as he gets closer he (and we) can see that it is a very young racoon. The poor little animal is desperately paddling towards the shore but is still a long way out. The kayaker paddles up alongside, hoping to steer the racoon towards the shore but it clambers aboard and settles in a tackle box!
When he reaches the island that he guesses the racoon was heading for, the little mammal is fast asleep! Also, the island turned out to be pretty small and may not have everything the racoon needs to thrive. So, he heads for a larger island but when he gets there the racoon refuses to wake up! What a dilemma!
What else can he do but take the exhausted animal along with him on his fishing trip. As he fishes, we can see the dark outlines of sharks moving through the water – they would have enjoyed his little passenger as a snack. Whilst racoons are good swimmers and have webbed feet and dense fur which helps them stay buoyant and move efficiently in water, this little one had got too far away from the shore and was in danger.
Racoons can swim but babies will have less stamina©Gerald A. DeBoer/Shutterstock.com
Feeding a Racoon
The fisherman throws in a net and manages to catch a plump mullet. Racoons eat fish, nuts, berries and corn. Two hours later the racoon is still sleeping (and snoring) in the tackle box which means that the fisherman can’t get at his tackle.
As the sun sets, this kind kayaker has paddled all the way back to his home so that he didn’t wake up the racoon by starting the motor. As he pulls his boat up onto the beach, the animal starts to stir but curls up and goes back to sleep. Eventually, it has to be lifted onto the shore where it looks around in bewilderment before sloping off into some bushes. Let’s hope it does well in its new home and keeps out of the water in future!
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