Occurred on August 3, 2020 / Wallace, Idaho, USA
Info from Licensor: "I head two immature raccoons chittering loudly behind my home. I discovered they were within the confines of Placer Creek, which is channeled within tall concrete walls to avoid flooding our residential neighborhood. The kits wandered around the creek, unsure of what to do. After 10 minutes, the mother raccoon appeared. She walked along the wall, calling to them, which confused them further. I ran home and got my cell phone so I could video what happened. I took a short video directly across from the ladder rungs, but my being there made the mom nervous. I retreated to my back yard so she could gather up her kits. The larger of the two was able to reach the lowest ladder rung and pull itself up. The smaller one seemed to be blind or very disoriented and was unable to find the first rung. The mother kept returning down the ladder to the creek, along with the other kit, but the small kit could not find the ladder. Eventually, the kit stretched up and got a toe hold on the first rung and pulled itself up. The mother immediately came down, opened her mouth, and caught her kit by the scruff of the neck. She climbed the ladder with her kit–and nearly lost it on the top of the wall."
