Torontonians try rescuing baby raccoons stuck in tree because wildlife groups are too busy, residents say

A small group of residents in Toronto’s east end attempted to rescue a group of baby raccoons stuck in a tree Wednesday afternoon.

The babies are inside a narrow hole in a large tree near Queen Street East and Broadview Avenue.

It’s been an upsetting situation for crossing guard Heather Fellows, who works a block away.

“The last couple of days, we have been hearing screeching, which is definitely the babies,” she told CTV News Toronto.

According to Fellows, the raccoon’s mother and one of her little ones died over the weekend. She said they were removed, but the others in the tree were not rescued.

One of the baby raccoons that fell out of the tree. (CTV News Toronto)

On Tuesday, she said one of the babies dropped and decided to bring the raccoon home.

“I feel so bad for them. They need their mom, but they also need rehab, and we should have the facilities for these things.”

Fellows said she called five different organizations to rescue the baby raccoons, but none were available.

Word of the raccoons and the situation spread on social media, and on Wednesday afternoon, a small group of people came together to try and get the raccoons down.

Since the raccoons are stuck in a high and tricky spot, they said a ladder doesn’t work. But it appears calling and coaxing the raccoons out of the trees worked, as a second one fell.

However, this one fell on a metal piece of gardening equipment, and one resident said it appears the animal’s nose was slightly injured.

Fellows said the babies would not drink milk. Area resident Siki Spasic has been feeding the babies out of the tree a liquid electrolyte solution for nourishment, following the advice she said she was given by a wildlife group.

One of the raccoons being fed some electrolytes. (CTV News Toronto)

“It’s really hard because there are so many amazing rescue wildlife centres, but they are completely slammed right now,” she said.

The number of 311 calls in the city is way up for injured wildlife.

While there were 2,302 calls between Jan.1 and May 9 in 2022, there were more than 6,340 over the same period in 2023.

Toronto Animal Services said calls about injured and sick animals increase with warmer weather, and the team is currently experiencing a high call volume of calls. This weekend it received 365 calls for sick and injured animals, and 195 service requests for cadaver pick-up.

The City of Toronto said, earlier in April, a distemper outbreak in the city’s raccoon population is partially to blame. 

On the same block as the orphaned raccoons, area resident Heather Hnatiuk said she found a dead raccoon near a school. She’s concerned about the resources available to respond.

“I would hope there was a way of controlling the population so the animals, there weren’t so many to suffer, so I think it’s more of a preventive thing,” she said.

One of the rescued raccoons. (CTV News Toronto)

Some residents told CTV News Toronto they didn’t call 311 because they don’t want the babies euthanized.

CTV News Toronto reached out to Toronto Wildlife Centre about wait times and best practices for people who come across raccoons in need.

A spokesperson for Toronto Animal Services said in a statement to CTV News Toronto it works with various rescue groups, including Toronto Wildlife Centre, to provide emergency response, care and treatment.

“Toronto Animal Services’ Animal Control officers work to ensure the best possible care and outcomes for pets and wildlife. Our officers will not euthanize healthy or treatable animals - only animals that are in serious pain, fatally ill or in distress." 

Wednesday night, Fellows said all five baby raccoons that were stuck in the tree had come down.

She said the one she brought home and the other four are being looked after together by another resident.