A Massachusetts raccoon is recovering after an arrow passed through its head without fracturing its skull or damaging an eye, leaving wildlife veterinarians with an injury unlike anything they had seen.
Here's what to know
Cape Wildlife Center in Barnstable received a call from someone who had spotted an injured raccoon in Plymouth, according to Popular Science.
The center referred the caller to local animal control, whose efforts to capture the raccoon took about a week.
Dr. Priya Patel, a wildlife veterinarian and the center's medical director, told Popular Science that the injured animal was a "very feisty raccoon" and remained so in its cage.
"So we decided to sedate her right away in the cage so that there was less stress for her, and then we were safe getting her out," Patel said.
More background
The object protruded from both the raccoon's face and the back of its head, veterinarians discovered after sedating it.
TCD Picks » Quince Spotlight
💡These best-sellers from Quince deliver affordable, sustainable luxury for all
X-rays allowed the team to identify the object as an arrow, possibly from a mini crossbow, according to Popular Science.
Patel and her colleagues could proceed with removal because the arrow had not caused a skull fracture and had missed both the animal's eye and sinus cavity as it passed through its head.
Popular Science noted that raccoon hunting is legal in the state.
What's being done?
"We were able to quickly assess that there was no major structural damage to her, and then we were able to remove it," Patel told Popular Science.
The team expected to release the raccoon back into the wild after the wounds healed and antibiotic treatments were completed. The animal remained at Cape Wildlife Center, where it was doing well.
Patel credited the persistence of the people who helped bring the raccoon into care.
"We cleaned the wound and put some antibiotic ointment on it and started her on antibiotics and pain meds," she told Popular Science. "She just got really lucky, and we were just grateful to Plymouth Animal Control for not giving up on trying to catch her."
Where can I learn more?
Getting an injured raccoon into care can take persistence, as these rescues also show.
• Massachusetts crews brought a raccoon stuck in a storm-drain grate to a wildlife hospital.
• In Tennessee, a raccoon with a pickle jar on its head prompted a tree rescue.
• New York beachgoers and lifeguards rushed to save a raccoon clinging above the waves.
Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.
