Unexpected guests can cause a lot of stress – what if they see the piles of laundry or interrupt your much-needed time alone with a tub of Ben and Jerry’s? However, there are some adorable visitors that won’t care about laundry and are guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. For example, a delightful one-eyed mama raccoon who had become a regular at Amy Williams’ house. One day she came back with three unexpected and very cute surprises.
More info: TikTok
This mama raccoon had been visiting Amy Williams' home for four years, bringing her babies along
Image credits: defamy28
Most raccoons are nocturnal and sneak out during the night to rummage in trash cans in search of food. They are shy and careful animals. But this one formed a special connection with the Williams family and has been bringing her adorable offspring every year for four years.
Affectionally nicknamed “Mama”, this raccoon has a distinct feature that makes her easily identifiable – one eye that has been injured. She has become so accustomed to the household that she doesn’t hesitate to beg for treats every time she visits their back porch.
Four years ago, Mama first surprised Amy and her husband by bringing a litter of four little babies – it is heartwarming to think that she trusted humans enough to show her kids to them. This marked the beginning of a yearly tradition when Mama would come over to show off the newest addition to her ever-growing raccoon family.
This year she had a big surprise - or rather, three of them
Image credits: defamy28
Image credits: defamy28
Amy and her husband never imagined what would come next. One night, Mama raccoon surprised them with an adorable litter of four baby raccoons. This marked the beginning of a heartwarming tradition as Mama returned each year with her little ones for the next three years.
Amy was anticipating this year’s visit, waiting to meet new babies. She didn’t know she was in for an adorable surprise – Mama emerged from the woods with three albino babies. Such a rare sight left Amy and her husband in awe, and she decided to share their magical experience on TikTok, captivating the hearts of the viewers. People flocked to the comments, sharing their own encounters with these adorable trash pandas.
Amazed by the unique sight of three albino babies, Amy decided to do some research about her new friends. Turns out, they are extremely rare: one albino raccoon baby occurs in approximately 1 in 500,000 to 750,000 births! And the chances of three albino babies in the same litter are 1 in 10 million. Now those are some serious odds and Amy definitely won some kind of raccoon lottery there.
Mama raccoon had three albino babies - a 1 in 10 million occurrence
Image credits: defamy28
Amy gave them adorable names like Cloud over here
Image credits: defamy28
Marshmallow who has a very distinct tail
Image credits: defamy28
Casper the chubby ghost
Image credits: defamy28
They are already causing mischief
Image credits: defamy28
After some time, Amy decided that these adorable balls of fur needed names. She asked TikTok viewers for help and eventually decided on the names: Cloud, Marshmallow, and Casper. The trio went viral on TikTok, charming people all over internet.
Their uniqueness that helps them stand out on the internet can be fatal in the wild as they are more visible to predators. Worried about the babies, Amy contacted a few wildlife sanctuaries to see if they needed to intervene. Since the babies were not injured and are in good care of their Mama, the wildlife officers told Amy that they should be fine in their current environment. As a true friend of the animals, Amy vowed to watch over Cloud, Marshmallow and Casper to ensure their well-being.
In return, the couple get to enjoy the joy of watching the babies growing up and earning essential raccoon skills such as tree climbing or coming to the back porch and begging Amy for treats. The Williams family will surely treasure the memories of these little rascals growing up.
Mama and her babies continue to visit Amy and her husband, bringing a lot of joy to their family and people online. Cloud, Marshmallow, and Casper are a beautiful reminder of how powerful and creative nature can be and how it never ceases to amaze us. Maybe it’s time to wander outside and look for miracles of our own?
Helping themselves to food that Amy leaves on the porch
Image credits: defamy28
Image credits: defamy28
Raccoons are often misunderstood
Image credits: defamy28
Many people think of raccoons as dirty animals that live in the trash and hiss at people. In fact, raccoons are very clean animals that wash their food before consuming it. Now this might be due to the fact that they have very sensitive nerve endings in their paws and water increases the responsiveness of the nerves. But it’s still fun to imagine raccoons being germophobes.
Their little face masks that make them look like cartoony bandits is not just nature playing tricks. The dark around their eyes works like an anti-glare device. Now that’s a cool fact for the next pub quiz.
Raccoons are very smart too. In 2017, the journal Animal Cognition published a study about raccoons’ causal understanding. Eight raccoons were shown a cylinder filled with water that had a marshmallow that was too low to get. Researchers showed them that if they dropped pebbles in, the water would rise to a level where they could get the treats.
Two raccoons learned how to drop pebbles in to get the marshmallow. A third raccoon found an even better way: she tipped over the tube to get the marshmallow out. She must be the bright one in the family.
What do you think about raccoons? Have you had any pleasant encounters or would you rather have them stay far away from you?
Watch the video here:
People in the comments were gushing over the fluffy babies
