Oakland has some iconic animals. There’s Hank the pelican, and there’s Kevin the peacock, and of course there is the Town’s adored population of “albino” raccoons. In reality, the raccoons do not have albinism; they have leucism, a genetic condition that causes loss of pigmentation. Feared extinct at one point, these cute, light-brown and cream-colored racoons have been spotted on and off at Lake Merritt for years. And over the past week, a couple of these trash-loving mammals found themselves in trouble.
Last Wednesday, Vicki Dowell and some neighbors noticed one of the snowy-haired raccoons lying in the road in their Adams Point neighborhood. Some local contractors said they saw the same raccoon struggling to walk earlier in the week.
“He was just lying on the curb,” said Dowell. “He was dragging himself and he was in a lot of pain, but the community did come together and we got him secured in a crate.”…