“The reactions were, ‘Is it a bat?!’ ‘Is it a rat?!’”
An ordinary cleaning job at an Indianapolis brewery turned into an unexpected wildlife rescue when an employee discovered a tiny animal hiding among a shipment of kegs.
Earlier this month, Steve, who works at Sun King Brewing in Indianapolis, Indiana, was cleaning newly delivered kegs when something suddenly fell from one of the pallets.
He carefully picked up the tiny creature and brought him over to his coworkers.
At first, no one was quite sure what they were looking at.
“The reactions were, ‘Is it a bat?!’ ‘Is it a rat?!’” canning deck employee Rick Franklin said. “After closer examination, we knew it was a very young raccoon due to the markings on his tail.”
The brewery employees quickly grew attached to their unexpected visitor and named him Wee Mac, after one of Sun King Brewing’s popular beers.
But it was also obvious that the baby raccoon was in trouble.
He was incredibly small, barely moving and so young that his eyes hadn’t even opened yet.
“Wee Mac seemed very listless, and he was so small that his eyes were not even open yet,” Franklin said. “At first, we weren’t sure if he was alive, but then he did start to move.”
Knowing the newborn raccoon was far too young to survive by himself, Franklin began searching for someone who could provide specialized care.
He contacted Re-Wilding Indiana, a wildlife rehabilitation organization, and animal rehabilitation specialist Ann Shirley soon arrived to take Wee Mac into her care.
The little raccoon is now receiving the round-the-clock attention he needs.
Rehabilitators are feeding him formula every three to four hours, and Wee Mac has already started gaining weight.
His recovery will take time, but the plan is eventually to return him where he belongs.
If everything continues going well, rescuers hope Wee Mac will be strong and independent enough to be released back into the wild next spring.
What began with a mysterious tiny creature falling from a pallet has now given one vulnerable baby raccoon a chance to grow up and someday return to nature.
Thanks to the brewery employees who stopped what they were doing and found him professional help, Wee Mac’s future is already looking much brighter.