Raccoon
Raccoon
Procyon lotor
Procyon lotor
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Population, Conservation Status, Threats:
Raccoons are considered least concern by the IUCN, with a population that appears to be increasing. While the species as a whole is not at risk of population decline due to these factors, individuals are commonly struck and killed by cars and are hunted and trapped for fur and as nuisance animals.
Physical Description:
Round, medium-sized mammal with gray-brown fur covering most of the body. The paws are thinly furred, the front paws in particular being prehensile and hand-like, and used for both climbing and manipulating objects. Most known for their black and brown striped tails and the distinctive "robber mask" around the eyes. Their head is roughly triangular, with a mid-length snout, leathery nose, and pointed ears.
Range of raccoons in the Americas from Montana Field Guide. Raccoons are widely found throughout the United States and Mexico, and into parts of Canada. They have also been introduced into Europe, Asia, and Japan, where their generalist survival strategies have helped them spread.
Habitat:
Raccoons are remarkably adaptable animals, benefitting from human settlement; they can be found throughout urban and suburban areas across the country, and frequently live in and around human dwellings, both abandoned and inhabited. In less urban areas, they prefer riparian zones - locations with abundant water and cover, in the form of trees or shrubs.
Behavior:
Raccoons are usually nocturnal, though in some locations will adopt a more diurnal schedule. They are generally solitary, though small family groups consisting of a mother and her kits are often seen, and young may stay together with their mother for a period of time even after they have weaned. They are adept climbers and even capable of swimming. Raccoons are intelligent, and frequently use their agile hand-like paws to manipulate objects, including garbage cans, food storage containers, and bird feeders. Raccoons have a habit of dunking their food in water before eating, which has often been characterized as them "washing" their food before eating it, and one proposed explanation for this behavior is that raccoons do not produce enough saliva, requiring pre-wetting of food - but recent research has suggested the purpose is to enhance the tactile sensitivity of their forepaws, thus gathering more information about the food they are handling.
Diet:
Raccoons are opportunistic omnivores, feeding on insects and aquatic invertebrates like crayfish and clams, as well as small vertebrates and their eggs. Berries and fruits, seeds, and nuts are also favored foods. Diet varies wildly dependent on time of year and availability of food sources. In urban and suburban areas, garbage can make up a significant portion of a raccoon's diet.
Reproduction:
Raccoons are solitary except when meeting up to mate or, in the case of females, while raising their young. They mate in the spring, and after a gestation period of 2 months, an average of 3 young are born. The mother alone provides parental care for the kits. After about five months, kits are able to live independently, though they may stay with their mother throughout the winter, dispersing in the spring.
Associated Species:
Great horned owls, also being nocturnal and preferring similar habitat to raccoons, predate upon them. Raccoons are also frequently found in and near human settlements, taking advantage of their resources and occasionally coming into conflict with them. Baylisascaris procyonis, the raccoon roundworm, is an intestinal parasite commonly found in the GI tract of raccoons, and which can - rarely - infect humans.
Illustration by Willow Sedam
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