Not just humans, even raccoons are being trained for survival in boot camps now. In a wildlife centre in Mississippi, a dedicated staff is braving mud, sweat and at times, blood, all to train their raccoon soldiers. But unlike what it seems, this boot camp is truly for their own benefit. It runs with the goal of helping sick or injured animals to survive in the South Mississippi wilderness.While these baby raccoons would have learned this skill set from their own mothers, their moms died or were separated from their kits by storms, traffic accidents or other traumatic events. Paula Woodside, the woman behind the Woodside Wildlife Rescue, has now taken the responsibility to make them capable enough to survive on their own. “When these babies come in, and they’re so desperate, it’s heartbreaking,” said Woodside to AP. “It’s really important for them to get a little bit of a head start.”
Teaching by example
The rescue located in the city of Pass Christian raises dozens of kits annually, 76 in 2026, alongside other indigenous wildlife.
Woodside, a former US merchant mariner, opened the rescue in 2019 after she helped rehabilitate a baby raccoon found aboard her ship. Now, her rescue located in the city of Pass Christian raises dozens of kits annually, 76 in 2026, alongside other indigenous wildlife.City animal control and citizens call Woodside, or the rescue’s director, Raquel Priest, when they find a raccoon in need of saving. Together, they attempt to reunite the kits with their mothers, if they can find them, or bring the kits to the rescue.The youngest raccoons will spend a few weeks mostly indoors being bottle-fed by rehabbers until they’re vaccinated for diseases carried by cat colonies and dogs and are ready to move to outdoor pens. Though the kits stay close to their adoptive human parents, they’re eventually allowed to roam free during the day on the rescue’s rural 20-acre (8-hectare) property, a sprawling mix of meadows and thick forest spotted with ponds and a nearby river. Thanks to that setting, Woodside and Priest can take their troops on learning excursions, a luxury many wildlife rescues don’t have, Woodside said.They teach the kits by example just like they would learn from their mothers in the forest. They hide worms in the dirt to show the kits how to dig for food, and break open pine cones or acorns to reveal the seeds inside. The raccoons’ eyes light up when they encounter a new tasty food, and they run to show their discovery to their rehabbers before hurrying back to fend off other kits who might try to steal their find.Unlike a drill sergeant who would yell “attention,” Priest and Woodside give a shrill trilling sound, mimicking the raccoon call for danger that sends the kits running up the trees to safety. A short whistle lets the troops know the coast is clear.The kits also practice fishing in shallow pools, their uncoordinated paws tentatively patting the water until they’re quick enough to snag a snack. A live quail hunt provides hunting experience. While these are skills raccoons would likely learn on their own, Woodside’s staff hopes the training gives the kits a greater chance of survival.In the pond located on the property, the raccoons learn to swim, a critical skill in hurricane-prone South Mississippi. The rehabbers take to kayaks and encourage the kits to swim back and forth. They also take trips to the deep woods, where kits learn to run from tree to tree to avoid being seen by birds of prey and to have a quick escape route from snakes or other dangers on the ground.
A graduated raccoon
For their final lesson, a volunteer, who is not Priest or Woodside, traps the raccoons in cages, scaring them enough to encourage them to avoid traps and humans. The experience helps the young raccoons wean themselves from their human rescuers, a process Priest said naturally occurs as they mature.When a group of kits is ready for release, about six months after their rescue, Woodside and Priest host a graduation ceremony. They play Edward Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance Marches,” and read a roll call of each graduating kit’s name.A reverend then blesses their journey as they’re released onto a different section of the rescue’s forest-covered property. For kits that die in care, the staff holds a second ceremony to bless and scatter their ashes.“It’s like watching your children leave home,” Priest said. “It’s important to see them prosper and go and be the mischievous creatures they were meant to be.”
