Every day, Tom drove the same route across Pennsylvania’s Route 462 bridge — a familiar path over the wide Susquehanna River. But one chilly fall morning, something unfamiliar caught his eye: a small, furry figure perched high on one of the stone piers.
It was a raccoon.
At first, Tom hoped the little animal would find its way home. But when he passed again the next day and saw the raccoon still there, exposed to the cold and stranded with no escape, he knew he had to help.
He pulled over, gently placed his jacket over the shivering animal for warmth, and called the police. Then, reluctantly, he left for work, hoping help would arrive in time.
But by the evening, nothing had changed. The raccoon was still there.
This time, Tom reached out to Raven Ridge Wildlife Center. With help from the local police, rescuers quickly put together a plan to reach the frightened animal — who was now trapped 100 feet above the river on the narrow platform of the bridge.
Standing high above the water, the rescue team carefully approached with a net. But just as they were about to secure him, a passing tractor-trailer roared by — and startled, the raccoon leapt.
The team gasped in horror as the animal disappeared into the water below.
“We just looked at each other like, ‘Oh no,’” said Tracie Young, a rescuer with Raven Ridge.
But then — a miracle.
A small, soaked head bobbed to the surface. Against all odds, the raccoon had survived the fall and was swimming toward shore.
One rescuer raced down to the riverbank while another stayed behind to track him from above.
Despite the cold and exhaustion, the raccoon paddled on, hesitating at the shore’s edge. That’s when the rescue team waded into the icy water and finally managed to bring him to safety.
“The poor thing was terrified and soaked, but he was alive,” Raven Ridge later shared.
Back at the wildlife center, the raccoon was examined and found to be in surprisingly good health — a little shaken, but otherwise unharmed.
“He looked great,” Young said. “Just a victim of bad luck and the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Once he’d regained his strength, the raccoon was released back into the wild — this time, far from bridges and danger.
“We were able to release him,” Young said. “Hopefully, he never has to see another person again.”
To help more animals like this brave raccoon, consider donating to Raven Ridge Wildlife Center.
