Retired West Virginia police officer James Butler heard the odd commotion coming from a dumpster while strolling through a local park.

The dumpster lid was closed but something – or several somethings! – were definitely caught inside.

But what could they be?

Well, having spent an entire career as a cop, Butler wasn’t exactly scared. But he was a tad hesitant … after all, any trapped wild animal could prove dangerous.

But he also knew he just had to help out if he could, so he slowly raised the dumpster lid, and cautiously peeked inside.

And there was something he’d never seen before in his life. In fact, almost NOBODY had ever seen these things!

There were five raccoons hiding among the trash … or at least, they looked like raccoons. But they were all white!

Unbelievably enough, Butler had stumbled on one of the rarest creatures on record:

An albino raccoon! And a whole family of them, too; there were five all told in the dumpster, and every last one needed to get out.

Butler grabbed a nearby wooden plank and used it to help the furry prisoners escape. It was a big success!

Then Butler contacted the Indiana Division of Fish and Wildlife because he’d really never seen albino raccoons before.

And just how rare were they? Only 1 in 750,000 raccoons inherit the albino gene! This was quite the find.

Butler was thrilled to see such a rare species but Coonskin Park – where he found the rare ‘coons – wasn’t quite as thrilled…

You see, the park has known about these rare little guys for a while, and they kept it a secret.

Why?

Because if word got out, everyone would flock to the park with their cameras, hoping to snap a pic of the extremely rare creatures.

And as Kanawha Park Police Department chief Rodney Jones said:

“We try to tell people with animals to keep their distance and don’t try to feed them.

I’d really hate to see an animal like that be destroyed because of someone’s curiosity or stupidity.“

Even worse, some people might view the albino raccoon as some sort of “prize,” like it’s something valuable to be captured or owned.

So, they wanted to make it clear to all visitors that while very pretty and intriguing, these raccoons can carry dangerous diseases, and people should definitely try to avoid them.

Yes, admire them, but admire them from afar!

Butler heard all this and took the right approach: once the albino raccoons were free, he just snapped a few photos and let them go on their way.

But he still went home with quite a story to tell!

Source: Honest to Paws

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