Family: Procyonidae, Raccoons view all from this family

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" (603–950 mm); T 7 1/2 –16" (192–406 mm); HF 3G –5 3/8" (83–138 mm); Wt 12–48 lb (5.4–21.6 kg).

Warning In recent years, raccoons have been carriers of rabies, especially in the eastern U.S. Rabies is a serious viral disease that results in death if untreated. Infected animals may be agitated and aggressive, or fearless and lethargic; normally nocturnal animals who are diseased may roam about fearlessly in daytime. Stay away from any animal that is acting strangely, and report it to animal-control officers. If you are bitten by a possibly rabid animal, you must immediately consult a doctor for a series of injections; there is no cure once symptoms emerge. Because of the danger of rabies, raccoons should not be encouraged to feed on porches, and their dung should not be left around buildings where humans and pets can come into contact with it. Raccoons also harbor a nematode (or roundworm) that, although harmless to the raccoon, is very dangerous and often fatal to woodrats and probably to many other mammals, including humans. Transmission is through the organism’s very tiny eggs, found in soil and dung, which become much more infective with time.

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 (60 g).

Habitat Various wooded and wetland habitats; common along wooded streams. Often found in cities and suburbs as well as in rural areas.

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. During very cold spells, the raccoon may sleep for several days or even a month or more at a time, but it does not hibernate. It may be out during warmer periods in winter, and sometimes even forages then, but it does not need to feed, as it stores a third or so of its body weight as fat and can survive the entire winter without eating. 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 (afterward perhaps taking the house as its den). 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. (In fact, the animal’s common name is derived from aroughcoune, an Algonquin Indian word meaning "he scratches with his hands.") 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. The Common Raccoon uses its den for bearing young, for winter sleep, and for temporary shelter. Communal denning is common—up to 23 raccoons have been reported in a single den—but usually only one adult male is present. During the day in summer, the Common Raccoon may simply sleep on top of a log, in a nest, or on a clump of vegetation. Although Common Raccoons are sedentary, males travel miles in search of mates. After mating, the male may remain with a female a week or so before leaving to seek another mate. The female is lethargic during pregnancy; she prefers to make a leaf nest in a large, hollow tree, but may also use a protected place, such as a culvert, cave, rock cleft, Woodchuck den, or space under a wind-thrown tree. Young are born in spring and open their eyes at about three weeks; they clamber about the den mouth at seven or eight weeks, and are weaned by late summer. At first the mother carries them about by the nape of the neck, as a cat carries kittens, but she soon leads them on cautious foraging expeditions, boosting them up trees when threatened and attacking predators ferociously if cornered. Some young disperse in autumn; others may remain in the den until the female drives them out upon expecting a new litter, as den space is limited. This creature’s vocalizations are varied and include purrs, whimpers, snarls, growls, hisses, screams, and whinnies. Upon meeting, two raccoons whose territories overlap growl, lower their heads, bare their teeth, and flatten their ears; the fur on the back of their necks and shoulders stands on end. Usually both animals back off without coming to blows.

Foxes, Bobcats, Coyotes, owls, and other predators undoubtedly kill many young raccoons, but the automobile, disease, and accidents probably are more important causes of death. In some regions, "coon" hunting is a popular sport in late autumn, when raccoons are very active, fattening themselves for winter. Such hunting expeditions involve dogs trailing the raccoon until it is treed, at which point the hunters shoot the animal. Sometimes, however, instead of climbing a tree, the raccoon leads hounds to a stream or lake. A dog that swims well can easily overtake a Common Raccoon in the water, but the raccoon, a furious fighter, can defeat a single dog. Raccoon pelts were valuable until the fur industry declined; interest in the animal’s fur probably peaked during the 1920s, when owning a coonskin coat was a collegiate craze.