A dramatic raccoon rescue in Berlin
A raccoon perched for days atop a utility pole in a busy residential neighborhood in Berlin caused a commotion over the weekend.
The Animal Rescue League of Boston was flooded with calls about the raccoon, said Danielle Genter, a senior rescue technician there.
“A lot of neighbors were really concerned about the raccoon because they had been watching it for days,’’ said Genter.
The raccoon may have been on the pole for up to four days, she said. When she arrived, a crowd had formed to watch the rescue. Berlin police directed traffic as National Grid arrived with a bucket truck.
As National Grid cut the power to the pole and arranged for its workers to head up the bucket of its truck, Genter got to work providing a cushion should the raccoon fall from the considerable height.
“We were trying to think of ways we could help the raccoon break his fall if he did fall,’’ she said.
She collected hay from a local farm and spread it all around the base of the pole. She also filled garbage bags with hay and placed them around the base. But, it turns out, the raccoon didn’t need the cushion. A National Grid worker was able to get the raccoon in a net and bring him down to the ground.
The racoon then escaped the net and ran off. Genter chased him down, captured him in the net once again, and successfully caged him. He was then delivered to a licensed wildlife rehabilitation center in the state.
Genter rescues about a dozen raccoons a year, she said, though she’s never rescued one in quite this manner. Usually she comes to the rescue of raccoons that have been hit by cars, she said. Since raccoons can climb down poles, she had a feeling he was injured Her hunch proved true when he limped after being rescued.
“He was most likely dehydrated from being up there for so long,’’ said Genter. “And they’ll look at his foot. If he’s able to be released, he would be released in the same area (where he was rescued).’’
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