🐾 Raccoon

Raccoon

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Who it is

• Scientific name: Procyon lotor
• Family & relatives: The best-known member of the raccoon family (Procyonidae), related to coatis and ringtails.
• How to spot it: Spot it by the black 'bandit' mask across its eyes, grayish fur, and a bushy tail with dark rings.

Its body & abilities

• Size: Body length is about 40 to 70 cm (16 to 28 in), plus a ringed tail.
• Weight: Adults usually weigh about 5 to 12 kg (11 to 26 lb).
• Body & adaptations: Its highly sensitive, dexterous front paws can open latches and untie knots, and it walks flat-footed like a bear.
• Top speed: It can run up to about 24 km/h (15 mph) and is a capable climber and swimmer.
• Strength: It can rotate its hind feet nearly 180 degrees to climb down trees headfirst.
• Senses: Its sense of touch is remarkable, especially in the paws, and it sees well in the dark.
• Growing up: Kits are born blind in spring, open their eyes in about three weeks, and are weaned by summer.

Where it lives

• Habitat: It thrives in forests, wetlands, and increasingly in towns and cities.
• Where in the world: Native to North America and introduced to parts of Europe and Japan.
• Territory: Home ranges vary from a few hectares in cities to several square kilometers in the wild.

What it eats

• Diet: An omnivore that eats almost anything and drinks from ponds, streams, and puddles.
• Favorite foods: It eats fruit, nuts, insects, eggs, frogs, crayfish, and human garbage.
• How it hunts: It forages by feeling underwater and along the ground with its sensitive paws, often near water.

How it behaves

• How it moves: It walks and climbs skillfully and swims when needed.
• When it is active: Mostly active at night (nocturnal), resting in dens or trees by day.
• Family life: Fairly solitary but flexible; loose groups are sometimes called a gaze or a nursery.
• How it talks: It makes over a dozen sounds including chitters, growls, and purrs, and marks with scent.
• Babies: After about a two-month pregnancy, a female gives birth to two to five kits, usually once a year.

Its place in nature

• Role in nature: It spreads seeds and controls pests; predators include coyotes, bobcats, owls, and large hawks.
• Conservation: Listed as Least Concern by the IUCN and thriving, even expanding into cities.
• Dangers: Vehicles, disease like distemper and rabies, predators, and hunting cause most deaths.

Life & legacy

• How long it lives: Lives only about 2 to 3 years in the wild but up to 20 in captivity.
• In our culture: A trickster in Native American stories and an internet 'trash panda' star, the raccoon is both admired and a nuisance.
• Where to see it: Look for them at dusk near water, campgrounds, parks, and backyards across North America.
• Fun fact: Its species name lotor means 'washer' because raccoons often dunk and handle their food in water before eating.