Baby raccoons are born between March and June and the average litter size is four infants. Often juvenile raccoons will be out exploring without their mother. Though mom is nocturnal, the little ones are not until they are about 11 months old.
 

If you find a kit, or several huddling together and hiding, or coming up to you out of curiosity, please don't think they need help, and certainly don't feed them as this may attract predators who may harm them. They are beginning to explore their world while mother sleeps nearby. It may also be the time for mother to move to a new den, so some may just be waiting for her to come back as she can only carry one at a time. If the babies are removed, their mother will frantically search for them for a week to ten days.
 

Other mother raccoons also adopt orphaned kits, so please, when possible, leave them be as no rehabber is as good as a mom.
 

Signs that baby raccoons need human intervention are if they are:

• Cold or screaming

• Covered in feces or flies and maggots

• Trapped in a trashcan, window well, or other human environment

 

Please check with a wildlife rehabilitator before removing them as raccoons are very susceptible to feline distemper, a type of parvo, and leptospirosis. Roundworm is also a concern so it's important to wear gloves when handling even baby raccoons.