Two months ago, a man named Mr. Beasley was driving on a highway in Virginia when he noticed a furry lump on the side of the road. Everyone else zoomed past the ball of fluff without stopping to investigate, but Mr. Beasley sensed that something was seriously wrong.
The driver swiftly pulled over and soon discovered an injured raccoon who was unable to move. That’s when he called Evelyn’s Wildlife Refuge (EWR).
“[N]o doubt, others [had] seen her laying there,” EWR wrote on Facebook. “But one person decided to make a difference in her life and call a rescue for help.”
Evelyn’s Wildlife Refuge
Mr. Beasley stayed with the raccoon until EWR’s rescue team arrived. When they got there, the EWR team scooped up the raccoon, named her Beasley after her kind rescuer, then shuttled her to their headquarters for a thorough medical exam.
Sadly, Beasley’s injuries suggested that she’d been hit by a car, with one eye severely damaged and seemingly a broken arm. She couldn’t stand on her own, and her injured eye would need to be removed, but the EWR crew promised she would feel better soon.
Evelyn’s Wildlife Refuge
They started Beasley on a series of medicines to help control her pain and reduce the chance of infections. Before long, the sweet girl started to perk up, and, oddly, her belly started to grow.
The EWR gave Beasley an ultrasound scan when she first arrived, but they couldn’t see any pups at the time, so they determined she wasn’t pregnant. Then, about a month into her rescue, Beasley delivered a shocking surprise.
“While in care recovering, she decided to surprise us on Easter and have three little babies,” EWR wrote on Facebook. “When she first came in, we had a sonogram done, but unfortunately, the pregnancy was so early. We did not detect her being pregnant.”
Evelyn’s Wildlife Refuge
The EWR team wasn’t expecting Beasley to give birth while in their care, but they were ultimately relieved that she had a safe space to have her pups. Once discarded on the side of the highway, Beasley now had a second chance at life as a new mom, and her maternal instincts kicked in immediately.
“After having the babies, she has become quite protective and quite aggressive,” EWR wrote. “Usually, when we know they’re pregnant, we get them into an outdoor enclosure so they have more privacy and feel a little safer. Unfortunately, that was not the case for her.”
Evelyn’s Wildlife Refuge
The EWR folks missed the opportunity to place Beasley in an outdoor enclosure before she had her pups, but there was still time to move the tiny family after their arrival. The team carefully placed Beasley and her pups in a crate, then moved them outside to their new home.
You can see more images of Beasley and her babies here:
Beasley and her babies have settled into their new enclosure, and the pups continue to grow each day. It’ll be a while before Beasley and her pups return to the wild, but the EWR folks are in no rush. The tiny family is safest in their care, and the team is happy to have them.
“Her and her babies will remain in [our] care until her babies are older,” EWR wrote. “Raccoon babies will sometimes stay with their moms up to a year.”
Beasley and the pups should be ready for release in a year or so. Until then, they’ll keep thriving at EWR, feeling grateful that one kind man driving down a highway decided to stop for them.
To help animals like Beasley get the care they need, you can donate to Evelyn’s Wildlife Refuge here.
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