A woman from Nova Scotia, Canada, was left surprised last month after she found an unusual and hairless animal in her backyard.
Jamie Forgeron described her unexpected meeting to CBC News, “[My husband] went out to feed the cats, and it was hiding behind our generator box behind our house, and it kind of just came running out and scared the life out of him.” A relatively odd hairless creature, Forgeron and her husband were concerned that it may have been some sort of disease and something needed to be done for their safety. They brought the animal to Hope For Wildlife, a leading local wildlife rehabilitation center.
You might be curious about what kind of animal came in,” Hope For Wildlife posted on Facebook about their mysterious visitor. “We’ll give you a little hint: Remove her fur, and you can’t see her signature facial mask.” To everyone’s surprise, the hairless animal was a northern raccoon. The lonely raccoon female was suffering from an ailment that took away all her fur.
The shelter explained this more in a social media post: “[She] has a condition called alopecia – or, more simply, hair loss. She’s completely bald.” Although alopecia is most often associated with parasites, mange, or fungal infections, it didn’t appear to have the skin of this raccoon in terrible condition. However, the raccoon had no trouble settling in with her new surroundings and finding companionship with other raccoons at the center.
The other raccoons have accepted our bald raccoon patient,” said a post by Hope For Wildlife. “I suppose if you’re naked, it helps to have many fur friends around to snuggle up and keep you warm on cold nights.” Rescuers were baffled by Rufus’ alopecia and are still trying to pinpoint why she lost most of her fur. It will also be some time before they can establish whether she can ever go back to the wild.
Under good supervision and a proper diet, [she] may grow back some of [her] fur, and [she] may be releasable,” the founder of Hope For Wildlife told CBC News. Either way, Rufus will likely remain in her habitat since, at present, she is flourishing at the hands of people who seem to love her. Now, Rufus enjoys the warmth and companionship of new friends, relaxed and pampered by a devoted rescuer.