I was parked in the Goss parking area at the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma (March 2009). I saw a raccoon walk out of the woods, so I got out of my pickup to get a few photos of it. The raccoon came right up to me, showing me an injury that it had on its paw. This raccoon sniffed around on my boots after showing me the injury.
The injury didn’t look that bad to me. I could see that it looked like a raw spot.
It went to the side of the road and began searching for a meal. It didn’t seem like the injured paw was causing it trouble in using it to search in the water.
After sharing this blog post on social media, someone suggested that this raccoon’s behavior could be because it was released after being rehabilitated. I thought this was interesting, but releasing rehabilitated raccoons there isn’t a common practice. The refuge’s primary focus is on migratory birds, and raccoons aren’t typically part of their rehabilitation and release programs.
After doing some research, I discovered the following:
More likely release locations for raccoons in Oklahoma would be areas closer to where they were found injured. This could include:
- Wildlife rehabilitation centers with release programs in suitable raccoon habitat.
- State wildlife management areas or other protected lands that provide raccoons with the resources they need to thrive.
The chosen release location needs to offer adequate food, water, shelter, and minimal competition from other raccoons.
The only way to know for sure is to contact the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge directly, which I plan to do.
I was hand holding a Canon EOS 40D camera with a Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM lens attached. This long lens is why I didn’t get a photo when it was touching my boot. It was to close.
Camera Settings On First Photo
- AV Mode
- Aperture: f4.5
- ISO: 400
- Shutter speed: 1/800 sec.
- Exposure Compensation: 0 EV
- Focal Length: 500 mm