Baby Raccoons Undergo Wildlife Training at Mississippi Rescue
September 23, 2026
A unique program in Mississippi is helping orphaned baby raccoons prepare for life in the wild. Known as the “raccoon boot camp,” this initiative aims to equip these young animals with essential survival skills.
Woodside Wildlife Rescue / Credit: Associated Press
Based at Woodside Wildlife Rescue in Pass Christian, Mississippi, the program provides care and training to raccoon kits left motherless due to a variety of unfortunate events such as natural disasters and traffic incidents.
Initially, the young raccoons are nurtured indoors by staff, who act as surrogate parents. Subsequently, they transition to the rescue’s expansive 20-acre outdoor area to start learning critical skills.
The team devises creative methods to teach the raccoons how to forage and hunt. They hide worms in soil and show the kits how to open pine cones and acorns to access nutritious seeds. The raccoons also practice fishing in shallow ponds until they can catch their own prey.
Swimming is another vital skill covered in the training. Staff members use kayaks to guide the raccoons on the water, emphasizing the importance of this ability in Mississippi’s hurricane-prone environment.
Credit: WLOX-TV
The raccoon kits also explore wooded areas, where they learn to navigate between trees, evade predators, and identify threats. A special trilling sound, used to mimic an alert call, signals them to seek refuge in trees, while a short whistle confirms the all-clear signal.
While the activities might appear playful, they are crucial for the raccoons’ survival post-release. The rescue program, established by former U.S. merchant mariner Paula Woodside in 2019, has already assisted 76 raccoon kits this year alone.
“When these babies come in, and they’re so desperate, it’s heartbreaking,” said Woodside.
After approximately six months of training, the raccoons reach their final milestone—graduation. In a symbolic ceremony, their names are read aloud as “Pomp and Circumstance” plays, marking their release into a forested section of the rescue’s grounds to begin their new lives.
“It’s like watching your children leave home,” remarked Raquel Priest, the rescue director. “It’s important to see them prosper and go and be the mischievous creatures they were meant to be.”
For Woodside, witnessing the transformation of these vulnerable kits into thriving young raccoons is immensely rewarding. “In all actuality they shouldn’t have survived, and they did, and now they’re thriving,” she stated. “That’s why we do it.”
