Saving a family of raccoons from a trash bin was not a call the North Vancouver RCMP expected to receive earlier this week. But when nature calls, sometimes you have to answer.
North Vancouver RCMP spokesman Const. Mansoor Sahak said that just before 7 a.m. on Sept. 29, the detachment received a call about a family of raccoons trapped in a dumpster behind a construction site on the 200 block of East 13th Street. Two officers went into rescue mode, creating a makeshift ramp for the raccoons to use to climb out.
“The entire family was able to make it out successfully without anybody getting hurt,” Sahak said. “[It’s] just a cute success story that we decided to put out letting the public know beyond the day-to-day crime fighting that we usually do or responding to calls, sometimes we get to assist animals.”
North Vancouver RCMP made a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Thursday morning to show people they are out in the community, but also going above and beyond on the job.
RCMP members are used to getting calls about animals, Sahak said, but raccoons are unusual. The detachment dubbed the rescue Operation Trash Panda.
“Certainly, rescuing raccoons is not in the job description, but it’s something that these officers took it upon themselves to do,” he said, adding that it was a rewarding day on the job. “You’re saving raccoons from being killed.”
Abby Luciano is the Indigenous and civic affairs reporter for the North Shore News. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
