A raccoon boot camp in Mississippi teaches abandoned kits survival skills
PASS CHRISTIAN, Miss. (AP) — Muddy, sweat-soaked and occasionally bloody, the dedicated staff at a Mississippi wildlife center are drill sergeants. And their soldiers? Baby raccoons. Welcome to raccoon boot camp, where the goal is to help sick or injured animals learn to survive in the south Mississippi wilderness — a skill set they would have learned from their mothers, most of whom died or were separated from their kits by storms, traffic accidents or other traumatic events. It's a challenge that's left Woodside Wildlife Rescue's founder, Paula Woodside, with cuts from ...