Mississippi Rescue Center Runs a ‘Boot Camp’ for Orphaned Baby Raccoons

Pass Christian, Mississippi, USA — September 21, 2026

A wildlife rescue center in Mississippi is giving orphaned and injured baby raccoons a second chance by teaching them the survival skills they would normally learn from their mothers.

A Different Kind of Boot Camp

At Woodside Wildlife Rescue in Pass Christian, young raccoons take part in what staff call a “boot camp.” The unusual rehabilitation program prepares the animals for life in the wild after they have been separated from their mothers.

The rescue center was founded in 2019 by Paula Woodside, who began rehabilitating wildlife after helping a baby raccoon found aboard a ship where she worked.

The center has cared for dozens of young raccoons each year. In 2026 alone, staff had taken in 76 raccoon kits at the time of the Associated Press report.

Learning to Find Food and Escape Danger

The young raccoons initially stay indoors while they are bottle-fed and receive necessary care. Once they are strong enough, they move into outdoor areas where they can begin developing natural behaviors.

Rescuers hide worms in the soil so the raccoons can practice digging for food. They also help the animals learn to open pine cones and acorns to find edible seeds.

The kits practice swimming and fishing in ponds around the rescue property. They also learn to climb trees and move through wooded areas, where they can practice escaping potential predators.

Learning to Stay Away From Humans

One of the final lessons is designed to teach the raccoons to be cautious around people and avoid traps.

A volunteer places the animals in cages during a controlled exercise. The experience is intended to make the young raccoons uncomfortable enough to discourage them from approaching traps or becoming overly dependent on humans.

The goal is not to make the animals pets, but to prepare them to live independently once they are released.

A Graduation Before Returning to the Wild

After roughly six months of rehabilitation, raccoons that are ready to live independently receive an unusual send-off.

Staff members hold a graduation ceremony, play “Pomp and Circumstance,” read the names of the animals and then release them into another forested part of the rescue property.

The ceremony gives the rescuers an emotional moment to mark the end of months of care. For the animals, however, it marks the beginning of a new stage of life away from human assistance.

Through its rehabilitation program, Woodside Wildlife Rescue hopes orphaned raccoons will leave with the skills they need to forage, climb, swim and avoid danger on their own.

Sources

• The Associated Press — A raccoon boot camp in Mississippi teaches abandoned kits survival skills — September 21, 2026.
• WAPT — Mississippi wildlife rescue helps abandoned baby raccoons prepare for the wild — September 21, 2026.
• Yahoo News — Baby Raccoons Learn to Swim, Forage and Avoid Trouble at Mississippi “Boot Camp” — September 23, 2026.