When Fur Meets Duty: Pullman Police Free a Stuck Raccoon

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the above image on Facebook over the weekend.

Pullman Police Officers were able to free a raccoon who became stuck in a trap. It appears he made his way to someone's home, with his limb locked in the trap.

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The poor critter was obviously somewhere, he or she shouldn't have been. Although, it's unclear exactly where that was. Fortunately for the trapped little raccoon, a good samaritan was able to call for assistance. Code Enforcement Officers were able to free the wild animal.

According to Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, a hunting or trapping license is required to hunt or trap raccoons during an open season.

However, a property owner, or the owner's immediate family, employee, or tenant may kill or trap a raccoon on that property if it's damaging crops or domestic animals.

Adult raccoons weigh 15 to 40 pounds, their weight being a result of genetics, age, available food, and habitat location. Males have weighed in at over 60 pounds. A raccoon in the wild will probably weigh less than the urbanized raccoon that has learned to live on handouts, pet food, and garbage-can leftovers.

To keep your property free of raccoons observe the following:

• Do NOT feed the raccoons.
• Keep garbage can lids on tight. Secure your garbage cans.
• Feed pets indoors.

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A raccoon may search for food in your vegetable garden, fish pond, or chicken coop. Its search may lead it to your attic, chimney, or crawl space. You may have to call someone to evict the critter.