A raccoon found in Plymouth with an arrow lodged through her face is recovering at a wildlife hospital in Barnstable after local animal control spent roughly a week trying to catch her. X-rays showed the arrow passed through her face and out the back of her head, missing her eye and sinus cavity and leaving her skull unfractured.
A Week-Long Chase Before Treatment Could Begin
The first challenge was catching the raccoon. After a Plymouth resident called the Cape Wildlife Center for help, staff advised contacting local animal control because the animal was mobile and outdoors, Popular Science reported. Plymouth Animal Control tracked her for about a week before catching her, according to the outlet.
At the Barnstable center, staff sedated the raccoon in her cage before handling her to reduce stress, the same account reported. Dr. Priya Patel, the center’s medical director and a wildlife veterinarian, described her as feisty despite her injury.
X-Rays Reveal the Arrow’s Path
X-rays showed the arrow had passed through the raccoon’s face and exited the back of her head without hitting her eye or sinus cavity or fracturing her skull, according to the report. Staff removed the arrow, cleaned the wound, applied antibiotic ointment and began a course of antibiotics…