A ‘feisty’ bald raccoon is gaining a lot of attention on social media.
Rufus, is completely hairless, believed to have alopecia.
She was found in Arichat by an individual near Port Hawkesbury who saw her a few times and could tell she wasn’t doing well.
They set a trap and brought her in to Hope for Wildlife, where she is currently in rehabilitation.
Owner and Founder Hope Swinimer says Rufus has healthy skin and why she lost her hair is a mystery.
“Sometimes we don’t know what happened, we can assume it’s by car or window strike or that kind of thing.”
Rufus also managed to survive the winter without any hair to keep her warm.
Swinimer says how she did it, is also a curious thing but raccoons do tend to den up underground and sleep away the winter.
“They’ll only come out when the sun comes out or when they get really, really hungry.”
If she doesn’t grow the fur back, Swinimer says Hope for Wildlife will reach out to the Department of Natural Resource to see if she can take up a permanent residence in their Education Program.
Rufus, however, is not alone, according to the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables, another bald raccoon was found mere days before in the same area.
That one had to be euthanized.
Bald raccoons are quite rare. Hope for Wildlife has only come across three since the early 1990’s.
