They’re seen by some as cuddly and intelligent, by others as always-hungry pests. Either way, raccoons are not meant to be loose in Sunderland.
A search for a rogue raccoon in the city has entered its seventh week with volunteers hopeful that the lure of breeding will entice the animal to return home.
A trespasser is believed to have let out three raccoons from an enclosure at Sunderland Training and Education Farm on 18 December. Two female raccoons, Rocket and Pinch, were tempted back by hotdogs left in a crate at the farm but Meeko, a male raccoon, remains a fugitive.
Iain Jenkins, the founder of Raccoon Rescue UK, has been helping to coordinate the search for the animals.
He told the BBC that Meeko was very likely to be hiding in nearby woods.
“They are very intelligent animals,” Jenkins said. “They are probably equivalent to a two- or three-year-old child. They will work things out … that is how they have managed to stay out for a month or so evading us.”
Emily Colburn, who works at the farm, said Meeko was “more of a nightmare” than the two females. “He will try and hide as best he can.”
There is paw-print evidence that Meeko has been returning to the farm for food but then disappearing back to his hiding place.
Raccoons are native to North America and have adapted well to city life in places such as Toronto, where authorities offer tips on how to deter and clean up after them.
Jenkins said raccoons were capable of getting out of cages put out to trap them, so it was a case of getting there as quickly as possible.
“We’ve had several reports from around the Sunderland area but we’ve pretty much got him focused down now to one set of woodlands. That’s where our traps have been relocated as well as having one right next to where the females are.
“We’re coming in to what would be the breeding season so we’re hoping he’s going to be attracted to the young ladies that are waiting for him.”
