We recently responded to a call from a concerned homeowner who had been hearing strange noises coming from inside the walls of their house. The scratching and soft cries had been going on for a couple of days, and the homeowner was understandably worried. Adding to the mystery was the fact that a raccoon, previously spotted frequently around the property, hadn’t been seen in several days. The homeowner mentioned that just four days earlier, a large tree near the house had been taken down — a tree that had long been a favorite climbing spot for the local raccoons.
That detail was an immediate red flag. Raccoons often use hollowed-out trees, attics, or quiet corners near a home to give birth and raise their young. With the tree suddenly gone, it was very likely that the mother raccoon had attempted to relocate her babies in a hurry. In her effort to find a new safe spot, she may have chosen an opening in the home’s exterior that led to the wall cavity.
We arrived on site with a plan: assess the situation without causing unnecessary damage, determine whether any animals were currently inside the wall, and act accordingly to ensure their safety and that of the home’s residents.
After careful inspection, we pinpointed the location of the noises. A thermal camera helped confirm the presence of small warm bodies inside the wall. Based on their positioning and the faint cries, it seemed the babies had somehow become separated from their mother. It appeared that she had attempted to move them but, due to some misstep — perhaps a small opening or vertical drop — the kits had fallen deeper inside the wall structure, out of her reach.
With extreme care, we opened a portion of the drywall. Inside, nestled and clinging to each other for warmth, were three raccoon babies — no more than a few weeks old. They were alive, but clearly in distress. Their fur was matted, and their little bodies were visibly dehydrated. Given the timeline, it had likely been at least four days since they’d had a proper feeding.
In a typical rescue situation involving healthy baby raccoons, our first approach would be to place them in a secure, warm box outside the home, close to where they were found. This gives the mother raccoon a chance to return and retrieve her young under the cover of night, which they often do within a few hours. However, in this case, that was no longer an option. Not only had the mother been absent for several days — likely unable to access her kits or possibly having abandoned them after the tree removal — but the babies were in poor condition and wouldn’t survive much longer without immediate care.
Recognizing the urgency of their condition, we transported the three kits to a licensed wildlife rehabilitation center. There, they would receive the fluids, warmth, and nutrition they desperately needed, as well as the ongoing care required to help them grow strong and eventually be released back into the wild.
This rescue was a great reminder of the challenges wild animals face when their habitats are disrupted — even unintentionally — by human development or changes to their environment. It was also a testament to the importance of quick thinking, compassion, and teamwork.
Thanks to the homeowner’s vigilance, our team’s careful approach, and the support of trained wildlife rehabilitators, these three little lives were saved. While it wasn’t the reunion with their mother we had hoped for, it was the next best thing — a second chance for these orphaned babies to survive and thrive.
