SHELBURNE FALLS — A few locals banded together Tuesday morning to save a baby raccoon after it fell off the Bridge of Flowers and sat stranded on the pylon base, too small to swim to its safety.
Joe Oliverio of Amherst said he first saw a litter of baby raccoons perched on some hanging vegetation on the bridge at about 7 a.m., while he was out taking photos of hummingbirds.
“I heard a little rustling near one of the trees and I tried to look down at the base, and I saw a pair of eyes looking at me,” Oliverio said.
Then, Oliverio saw one of the raccoons fall.
“I saw the littlest one fall out of the lowest hanging part of the tree and hit the cement,” Oliverio said. “He kept trying to climb up and failing.”
At only six or eight weeks old, the raccoon was unable to swim to shore, he said.
After local police did not come to the scene when Oliverio called, he took matters into his own hands. He purchased rope and a plank from a local store, trying to help the raccoon to safety without success.
Out of ideas, Oliverio posted to a Facebook group, “Western Mass Birders,” seeking advice. Shortly after, the local biologist Mara Silver replied and joined him at the bridge, ready to help out.
The two decided they needed to canoe to the raccoon.
“It was little, it was a baby,” Silver said. “It was just not really strong yet, he didn’t know he could swim. He was freaked out.”
Silver called up another Shelburne Falls biologist, her friend Jeff Boettner, asking him to bring his canoe to the scene.
Boettner was there in no time, hopping in his canoe and traveling to the stranded raccoon. For 20 minutes, he tried to coax the animal into a cat carrier, with the help of some sardines. Finally, at just after 11 a.m., the raccoon took the bait, and Boettner brought him to shore.
At the shore, the raccoon was released, scuttling away to reunite with its family.
“It seemed to know where it was going,” Oliverio said.
All told, Oliverio spent about five hours rescuing the raccoon.
“When I first saw him climbing and falling, I just knew I wasn’t going to have a good day,” Oliverio said.
Reach Grace Bird at gbird@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 280.