Raccoon

The raccoon is also known as the common raccoon only to differentiate it from other species. The raccoon animal is a medium-sized mammal that is also native to North America. The raccoon is the largest of the procyonid family and has a body length of around 40 to 70 centimetres and a total body weight which is between 10 to 26 kilograms. The raccoon has a greyish coat that mostly consists of a dense underfur which actually helps this animal to keep the body warm during the winter season or cold weather.

The raccoon animals’ three unique features are its extremely dexterous front paws, its facial mask, and its ringed tail. These three features are themes in the mythologies of the indigenous citizens of the United States of America. The raccoon is known for its intelligence as there have been many cases in the past where the raccoon is able to understand the humans and respond to them and even to solve the tasks which the humans have assigned. The raccoon is a nocturnal and omnivorous animal whose 40% of the diet consists of invertebrates whereas 33% consist of plants and the rest 27% consists of vertebrates.

Raccoons originated in deciduous and mixed woods, but owing to their flexibility, they have expanded their range to include hilly regions, coastal marshes, and urban areas, where they are considered pests by some homeowners. Raccoons have already spread over much of continental Europe, the Caucasus, and Japan as a result of escapes and planned imports in the mid-20th century.

In this article, we are going to discuss raccoon animals, their habitat, description, behaviour, reproduction, and also a few of the most important and frequently asked questions. 

What is a Raccoon? 

• The raccoon is one of the most recognizable creatures in the world as its range includes the whole United States of America, both in the rural and the suburban areas and also other countries. The scientific name of the raccoon animal is the Procyon lotor.

• The raccoon measures between 17 to 28 inches, excluding the tail, and mostly have grey to brown fur and a black mask around their eyes. Because the face is light grey to white in colouring, the coon's mask stands out. A raccoon's tail is bushy and "ringed." It has a maximum length of 16 inches. They have five toes on each paw, which are highly flexible and allow the animal to climb effortlessly. Raccoons weigh between 8 and 20 pounds when fully grown, with males being 20% larger than females.

• A raccoon is known to run at a speed of up to 15 miles per hour but they can only achieve such a high speed when they have been attacked or they are after prey. They like to move leisurely and informally from one area to another at other times. Raccoons are excellent swimmers and frequently search for food in the water. They are mostly nocturnal creatures, however, they may be spotted during the day if food is available. Raccoons are excellent climbers, capable of ascending and descending a tree headfirst and high in the branches. Bobcats, coyotes, and Great Horned Owls are the major predators of raccoons.

• Raccoons mate in the months of January and March, when there is more daylight. The raccoon will give birth to two to five pups, popularly known as "kits," after a 65-day gestation period. By the age of 16 weeks, these kits are generally weaned, and the group of kits will leave their mother in the fall. A raccoon's lifetime in the wild is between one to three years.

Raccoon Behaviour

Raccoons are very mischievous mammals that are usually characterized or known for having a white face or white fur and also have contrasting or alternative black fur around the eyes region. The raccoons have a grey coat, which is primarily made up of dense underfur that keeps them warm in the frigid winters. Raccoons are known for their intellect and memory, and they can solve riddles. They don't have opposable thumbs, but it doesn't stop them from opening things with their paws and strong claws, which is how they get their naughty reputation. They've been known to twist open a variety of doorknobs and handles, as well as break into trash cans.

Raccoon Scientific Name 

The scientific name of a raccoon is Procyon lotor. In the Grek language, Procyon roughly translates to ‘before the dog’ or the ‘dog like’. The species name, lotor also roughly translates from Latin to the washer which refers to the raccoons' inexplicable habit of the raccoons to dip their food in the water bodies. 

Raccoon Habitat

Raccoons are found mostly in the United States of America where the raccoons are found in both North and South America. The South American raccoons are also known as the Cozumel raccoon which is also known as the pygmy raccoons. The southern American or the Cozumel raccoon is very similar to the North American raccoons as they also have a black throat band and golden yellowtail. 

As mentioned before, raccoons are found mostly in America and to such an extent that there are almost more than 20 different subspecies of Raccoons in different states of America such as Texas, Baja California, Florida, and Snake River Valley. Variants found in Florida, Texas, Baja California, and the Snake River Valley. Many additional subspecies are found only on islands and do not interbreed with other populations. The skull anatomy, tooth formula, and fur of each one differ significantly.

Description of Raccoons

• The raccoons are one of the most recognizable animals as it doesn’t matter if it’s a fat raccoon or a baby raccoon, anyone can recognize a raccoon by looking at it once. They have pointed snouts, a wide skull, very round ears, sharp teeth, a hunched back which is the result of the hind legs being bigger than the front ones and they also have a very bushy tail with almost four black rings on it. The black marks around the eyes, which resemble a mask, are the most distinguishing features even though not every raccoon has this. It's unclear what this mask's purpose is. There are many assumptions on what is the purpose of the black marks as it is theorized that the black marks could make it easier for the raccoons to recognize each other. or It might also improve the raccoon's night vision or it could have just happened by chance. Hence the actual reason is not known. 

• The raccoon's coat is made up of thick grey underfur that protects it from the cold. Raccoons are almost all the same colouring, however, there is a white albino variety that exists in nature. An albino raccoon has a one in 10,000 probability of being born, and an even lesser chance of surviving in the wild since their white hue makes them stand out to predators. Because the albino raccoon is so rare, each new sighting attracts a lot of interest.

• A raccoon is a very small animal. It can be between 2 to 4 feet long from the skull to the tail and can weigh up to 15 to 25 pounds and a fully grown raccoon can be compared to a fully grown dog. By around 10% to 30%, the male boar is slightly bigger than the female sow. However, regardless of gender, their body weight varies greatly during the year. They gain weight in the winter and lose weight in the summer.

(image will be uploaded soon)

Social Behaviour of Raccoons 

• The raccoons have an excellent set of eyes and night vision, this helps the raccoons to be termed as the nocturnal predators as they come out in the night to feast or to hunt for small vertebrates or invertebrates. It sleeps in its resident rock crevices, hollow trees, and dens for the rest of the day, seldom leaving the surrounding region unless food is scarce. Raccoons, unlike many other mammals, are most active during the winter months, when they live off their fat reserves, shedding up to half their body weight before spring arrives.

• One of the most underappreciated abilities of the raccoon is its speed. It can run up to 15 miles per hour on the ground to avoid slower predators. They can also swim well and have strong hands that allow them to climb trees and then leap to the ground from a distance of 40 feet without being hurt.

• The raccoon is commonly misunderstood to be a lonely animal. However, upon closer inspection, it was discovered that they appear to have a restricted social life centred on gender-specific groupings. When housing space is limited, numerous animals will share a common area and gather to feed and rest on a regular basis. Except in the bond between mother and kits, they don't have a lot of vocalizations, but they do have a set of loud screams, hisses, growls, and snarls that they use to scare away other animals.

• A raccoon is an animal that has an excellent sense of touch and smell. Its strong paws are able to manipulate objects and open up strong shells and seeds. Raccoons are mentioned before are also very intelligent and in the past have been found to have the ability to perform complex tasks and also solve very difficult problems and riddles which the scientist who experimented with these animals presented them with. The raccoons for their ability to solve problems are considered to be one of the most intelligent species.

• Procyon lotor as mentioned before is the scientific name of the raccoon and it is a name so considered one unique aspect of its behaviour. The lotor is a Latin word that roughly translates to ‘washer’.Raccoons frequently search for submerged food along the beach in the wild. They next take up the food item with their front paws to inspect and massage it, occasionally removing undesirable portions. The raccoon appears to be "cleaning" the food in this manner. Because the water weakens the hard coating covering the paws, the tactile sensitivity of raccoons' paws is enhanced when this rubbing movement is conducted underwater.

• Many might think that this behaviour of the raccoons is only limited to the wild but if you are also thinking then you are wrong. The raccoons who have been kept captive whether at a zoo or a facility that studies the behaviour of different animals have found that the raccoons before eating the food provided to them, carry it towards the water to wash or ‘douse’ it before eating it. This behaviour of the raccoon is famously known as dousing. 

• When a watering hole with a pattern similar to a stream is less than 3 meters away, captive raccoons douse their food more regularly. Dousing in captive raccoons is thought to be a set action pattern derived from dabbling activity when hunting for water resources along shorelines. The fact that aquatic foods are drenched more frequently supports this theory. Cleaning soiled food does not appear to be a valid purpose to "wash." Experts have questioned the validity of reports of wild raccoons smothering food.

Raccoon Habitat 

• Raccoons are not particularly sociable animals. They sleep throughout the day and are nocturnal. They sleep more in the winter, but they do not hibernate in the classic sense. They just sleep as their bodies eat fat stored in their bodies. During the winter, they lose almost half of their body weight. Though the raccoons look like the outlaws of the outdoors they are very clean creatures. The raccoons are known for their habit of washing their food in the streams. 

• North and Central America, Europe, and Japan are all home to raccoons. They can survive in a broad range of temperatures and environments due to their adaptability. They usually build dens in trees or caves, but they will sometimes build dens in barns, abandoned automobiles, and other man-made structures.

• Raccoons rely on vertical structures to climb when they feel threatened, despite having flourished in sparsely forested areas in recent decades. As a result, they stay away from open ground and regions with a lot of beech trees, as beech bark is too smooth to climb. In the old oaks tree, there are tree hollows and rock crevices, these are mostly preferred by the raccoon and few of the people also term this as the home of a raccoon. They use the tree hollows to sleep and also protect themselves from extreme cold in the winter season. If any dense structure is not available, then the raccoon uses the burrows that have been dogged by other animals in the past to cover themselves. 

Raccoon Diet and Predators 

• A raccoon is an omnivorous, nocturnal animal that sometimes is active during daylight to take advantage of the available food resources. Its diet comprises around 40% invertebrates, 33% plant material, and 27% vertebrates. Because its diet consists of such a diverse range of foods, many argue and believe that the raccoon may be one of the most omnivorous animals.

• The raccoon eats insects, worms, and other creatures that are already accessible early in the year in the spring and early summer. It favours fruits and nuts like acorns and walnuts that appear in late summer and fall and provide a rich calorie supply for storing fat for the winter.

• Raccoons only consume active or big prey like birds and animals on rare occasions. They favour easier-to-catch food, such as crayfish, fish, amphibians, and bird eggs. Raccoons are vicious predators of both avian and reptile eggs and hatchlings.

• Raccoons can acquire strong individual preferences for certain meals when food is available. Raccoons fall into winter hibernation in the northern regions of their habitat, dramatically decreasing their activity as long as there is a persistent snow cover that makes finding food difficult.

Raccoon Reproduction 

• Raccoons only reproduce once a year, from February to June, with a peak in March. During the court's brief conception phase, the male will occasionally exceed his native region in pursuit of receptive females. Stronger males generally have first dibs on finding a mate, but even lesser males have a good chance of producing offspring.

• The female will give birth to a litter of three to seven kits at a time after a two-month gestation period. She is solely responsible for caring for and feeding her defenceless and blind child, while the father has no involvement in the child's growth.

• The newborn babies solely depend on their mother for everything. About and after 20 weeks the raccoon babies are ready to begin the foraging training with their mother and they also learn the basics of survival. Play appears to be an important element of a baby's growth and learning. The raccoons aren't ready to survive without their mother until the next spring.

• Because they are frequently preyed upon by predators, illnesses, or fast-moving cars early in their existence, raccoons have a life expectancy of only two or three years in the wild. If they make it to adolescence, they will have a five-year life expectancy. In captivity, the raccoon can live up to 20 years if it is fully safe.

Raccoon Population 

• The common raccoon is the species of least concern according to the IUCN Red List, even though the Cozumel raccoon, which is the closely related raccoon species, is considered to be critically dangerous. 

• The exact raccoon population is unknown but it is likely that it is very high as for example in wet lowland areas, it has been estimated that the raccoons have a population density of at least 50 per square kilometre. There are around 20 per square kilometre in wooded or agricultural regions. There are several millions of raccoons spread throughout bigger regions. Because of its widespread distribution, no particular conservation measures are necessary to conserve the raccoon, although its numbers are occasionally carefully regulated to avoid overpopulation.