A man saved a raccoon in an unusual way and shared a treat with him

15 March 2023

A video showing a raccoon being rescued from a snow-covered runway at a Canadian airport has melted the hearts of netizens, Newsweek writes. Flight instructor Will Birchall spotted the frozen animal in the snow while inspecting the runway at Burlington Executive Airport in Ontario, Canada after a snowstorm.

“We went over to see if we could scare him off, but he was obviously very cold and did not budge. After long and careful persuasion, we managed to pick it up with a shovel. The raccoon just sat on it,” Birchall said.

Burchall took the raccoon to the nearest forest, which was about 750 meters away.

“It was quite heavy and I had to take a few breaks during the trip. All this time he just sat on the shovel and waited,” says Birchall.

The airport is located about 55 kilometers from Toronto and is surrounded by forests and fields.

“It is not uncommon to see wildlife here, including raccoons, coyotes and rabbits. My guess is that he got disoriented during a snow storm and ended up far from cover in the middle of the airport,” Birchall said.

Although raccoons spend most of the winter in their burrows, they don't actually hibernate and have to come out from time to time to eat and drink. In winter, finding food is much more difficult, and they often rummage through garbage cans.

“I know not to feed wild animals, but the baby seemed cold and exhausted. All we had was a couple of muesli bars, we treated the raccoon with them, ”says the flight instructor.

After about half an hour, the raccoon went into the forest, but the story does not end there. Later that night, he was bumped into by another airport employee. The raccoon made his way to one of the hangars, gave him a little more to eat, and then sent him back into the forest. The airport staff has not seen him since.

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