ENTRY DESCRIPTION
A family of raccoons will have multiple dens within their home range. During daylight hours, they use them to keep out of sight -- most of the time. For newborn raccoon kits, every sound is a temptation to peak out from their hiding spot. The eastern raccoon kits photographed inside this compact tree hollow clambered over one another, including their much larger mother, struggling to take a look at the exact same time.

This moment was fleeting and certainly not one you have the opportunity to photograph every day. As a wildlife photographer, I appreciate that animals in the wild seldomly exhibit the behaviour you’re hoping to witness. I was extremely fortunate to have these baby raccoons all peer out of the hole in unison for the shot I had in mind.

There were actually four raccoons in this small tree hollow – these three babies and their much larger mother (not visible in the photo as the babies were climbing all over her to get a better vantage point from the hole). Shortly after this shot was taken, one of the babies fell back down into the hole and another climbed on the head of the third baby.

Having all three babies looking out of the hole in sync is certainly the most captivating part of the photo, but I also believe for an animal we now so often witness in urban environments with a reputation as troublemakers, it’s refreshing to see these raccoons in a relatively more natural environment.

This photo was taken in Southwestern Ontario, Canada in June 2019.

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