Hairless raccoon found in Cape Breton puzzles wildlife rescuers

It was something Jamie Forgeron had never seen before — a small, pink creature with no fur, eating cat food in her Cape Breton backyard.

But it wasn't one of her feline friends.

"[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," Forgeron said. 

It was a raccoon — hairless and shivering — looking for food.

The couple discovered the animal last week, and knew they had to do something. Forgeron said the animal didn't seem to be distressed in any way, but she worried it could be sick or have frostbite from the cold. 

So Forgeron called Hope For Wildlife, a wild animal rehabilitation centre with locations throughout Nova Scotia, to see if they could take the animal.

When they said yes, she set up a live trap — baited with cat food — to catch the naked raccoon.

She said within hours, the animal was secured and Hope For Wildlife picked it up.

"It was as calm as anything. It was almost like it knew it was going to get help," Forgeron said. 

Diagnosis unclear

Hope Swinimer, founder of Hope For Wildlife, said the raccoon is now at the Seaforth location and she has been affectionately named Rufus, after the naked mole-rat character in the 2000's children's television show Kim Possible.

The raccoon was initially thought to be male, but after it was put under anesthetic for dermatological testing on Thursday, staff at the centre confirmed she is a female.

Swinimer said the raccoon is doing well, is generally healthy and quite feisty — but she's just lacking hair which could be caused by a condition called alopecia.

It's unclear if the animal has a parasite, mange or fungal infection, but she's not showing any other symptoms, she said. Tests will be done and samples will be sent away to be sure.

Swiminer said without knowing what's wrong, it's unclear what will happen to the animal. 

"Under good supervision and good diet, [she] may grow back some of [her] fur and [she] may be releasable," she said.

Information Morning - NS7:49Meet a hairless raccoon at Hope for Wildlife

You've probably heard of a hairless cat or a skinny pig, but I bet you've never seen a bald raccoon. Hope Swinimer tells us about her Seaforth wildlife rehabilitation centre's newest visitor, Rufus, who arrived earlier this week with a big chill and a bit of an attitude.

If not, Swiminer said she may ask the Department of Natural Resources if the raccoon could live out her time at the rehabilitation centre.

"If she was going to live a life in captivity, she wouldn't be our first choice of an animal because we need to give [her] a quality of life," she said.

"But you know, things can be done. Beautiful habitats can be built."