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Family: Procyonidae, Raccoons
Description Usually gray-brown or orange-brown above, with much black; grayish below. Face has black mask outlined in white. Tail bushy, with 4–6 alternating black and brown or brownish-gray rings. Ears are relatively small. L 24–37"; T 7 1/2 –16"; Wt 12–48 lb.
Similar Species White-nosed Coati has long, thin, indistinctly banded tail, and much less prominent mask. Ringtail lacks mask and has longer tail.
Breeding Mates January–March; litter of 1–8 young born April–May after gestation of 63 days. Birth weight 2 oz.
Habitat Various wooded and wetland habitats; common along wooded streams. Often found in cities and suburbs as well as in rural areas. |
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Range Southern Canada through most of U.S. except for portions of Rocky Mountains, c Nevada, Utah, and Arizona.
Discussion Native only to the Americas, the Common Raccoon is nocturnal and solitary except when breeding or caring for its young. An accomplished climber, it can ascend a tree of any size and is able to come down backward or forward. Few animals can descend a tree headfirst; the raccoon does this by rotating the hindfoot 180 degrees. On the ground this animal usually walks, but it can run and is a good swimmer. Omnivorous, the Common Raccoon eats grapes, nuts, berries, pawpaw, and black cherry; grubs, grasshoppers, and crickets; voles, deer mice, squirrels, and other small mammals; and bird eggs and nestlings. It spends most nights foraging along streams and may raid Common Muskrat houses to eat the young and to prey on rice rats nesting in the muskrat’s walls. The raccoon swims in woodland streams, prowling for crayfish, frogs, worms, fish, dragonfly larvae, clams, turtles, and turtle eggs; climbs trees to cut or knock down acorns; and, in residential areas, tips over or climbs into garbage cans. The Common Raccoon’s nimble fingers, almost as deft as a monkey’s, can easily turn doorknobs and open refrigerators. If water is conveniently close, this animal sometimes appears to wash its food, a trait reflected in its species name, lotor, which means "washer." The raccoon’s objective, however, is not to clean the food but to knead and tear at it, feeling for inedible matter that should be discarded. Normally this is done with food found in the water.
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| Track Hindprint 3 1/4 –4 1/4" long, much longer than wide; resembles a miniature human footprint with abnormally long toes. Foreprint shorter, 3" long and almost as wide; claws show on all 5 toes. Tracks are relatively large for animal's size because Common Raccoon is flat-footed, like bears and humans. Stride 6–20", averaging 14". When walking, animal's left hindfoot print is almost beside right forefoot. When running, makes many short, lumbering bounds, bringing hindfeet down ahead of forefeet in a pattern similar to that of squirrel tracks.
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