Live Raccoon Clinging for Dear Life Rescued From North Carolina Pier

EMERALD ISLE, N.C.— The Gulf Stream, which flows north off North Carolina’s coast, has given the state a reputation for hosting a wide variety of sea life, including Caribbean fish, but something even more unexpected was found on a pier in Emerald Isle last month. On March 25, a raccoon was found clinging on for dear life to a piling on Emerald Isle’s Bogue Inlet Pier.

The popular fishing pier, ranked as the number one destination spot in Emerald Isle by Trip Advisor, stretches into the Atlantic Ocean. According to a Facebook post from Bogue Inlet Fishing Pier, pier staffer David Dodson was checking the pilings on March 25 when he spotted the raccoon near the end of the pier.

“Some quick thinking and a pier net probably saved the little fellow,” said the post. “Thanks to our Pier Staff David Dodson for his great netting ability!”

Raccoon on pier
Bogue Inlet Fishing Pier Facebook photo

Dodson told McClatchy News when he saw the animal, he looked so cute he had to try something to rescue him. It took more than an hour to bring the raccoon to safety because he was more afraid of the net than the water. Dodson told McClatchy News the raccoon kept swimming from one pole to the next, trying to get away from the net. After chasing the raccoon to six poles, the exhausted animal finally crawled into the net and he was brought to safety and scrambled away.

Raccoon on pier
Bogue Inlet Fishing Pier Facebook photo
Raccoon on pier
Bogue Inlet Fishing Pier Facebook photo

It’s unclear how the raccoon ended up in the water or how long he had been there. Dodson told McClatchy News he thinks the animal fell while poaching eggs from seabird nests on the underside of the pier.

This isn’t the first time land animals have been reported in the waters off the North Carolina coast. Hurricanes have also been known to drag livestock, wild horses and bears into the ocean. In 2019, cows made headlines after three were found roaming Cape Lookout National Seashore on the Outer Banks and it was believed they got there by swimming four to five miles across the Core Sound during Hurricane Dorian.

Correction: This story has been updated to correct an error stating the Bogue Inlet Fishing Pier stretches into Onslow Bay. 

One thought on “Live Raccoon Clinging for Dear Life Rescued From North Carolina Pier

  • April 30, 2021 at 4:47 pm
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    This pier is not on Onslow Bay it is in the Atlantic ocean!

    Reply

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