Luckily all that mess in the manhole ended well for this baby raccoon! Photo: Tegel Volunteer Fire Department
By Melanie Fischer
For these little raccoons, exploring ends in a bubble bath!
The volunteer fire brigade in Berlin-Tegel rescued two raccoon babies from a sewage gully at the weekend. The young animals had previously fallen into the three meter deep mud hole and were in danger of drowning. Residents became aware of the desperate screams and alerted the fire brigade.
The volunteer fire brigade rescued the raccoons from the gully with special tools Photo: Tegel Volunteer Fire Department
The comrades were amazed when they pulled the mud-smeared dirt finches out of the shaft with a winch and a landing net.
Covered in mud, the little dirty finches first came to the vet Photo: Tegel Volunteer Fire Department
A firefighter: “We were told we had fox cubs, but after we sprayed them with the water from the fire truck, they turned out to be raccoons.” Help came just in time for the eight-week-old raccoon babies. Trying to free themselves, they had already worn claws, paws were sore, a tooth had been broken and a hind leg was injured.
After a bubble bath, the little rascals felt better Photo: Tegel Volunteer Fire Department
At the vet, the mini raccoons first got a nice bubble bath. Then they went to a sanctuary, where they are now cared for and fed.
The injured wild animals can now recover from their adventure in a sanctuary Photo: Tegel Volunteer Fire Department
However, they are not allowed to be released into the wild, they face a life in a zoo or an animal park.