Raccoon Facts

 

“Can out think any creature on earth, and will – Except dangerous humans” – Audrey Tourney

 

Characteristics:

• Often labeled as “bandits” because of their distinctive black mask.
  Raccoons are nocturnal, and are seldom seen before dark, they spend most of the daylight hours sleeping.
• Aside from humans, raccoons are the second most adaptive species and can thrive in a diversity of habitats.
• Raccoons don’t hibernate but they will sleep through the coldest days of winter.
• The largest raccoon ever recorded was 60 lbs but usually they range between 30-40 lbs in size.
• The hands and fingers of a raccoon have thousand of nerve endings assisting them in discovering food under rocks and crevices. They are skilled at opening doors, latches, jars and garbage cans.

 

Diet:

• Raccoons are omnivorous with their diets consisting of fruits, nuts, berries and insect with a great love for clams, frogs, fish, bird eggs, young birds and rodents. Like bears the raccoon builds up a fat reserve by eating large amounts in the fall to carry them through the winter.
• Having the ability to adapt to different environments, and being opportunistic feeders, Raccoons thrive in urban areas having access to a variety of unnatural food sources, i.e. garbage cans.

Habitat:

• Aside from humans, raccoons are the second most adaptive species and can thrive in a diversity of habitats.
• Primarily they are found in forested areas near or along sources of water, but are often found living in or near urbanized or agricultural lands finding shelter in hollow log, rock cave or cavity in a tree.

Reproduction:

• Mating occurs between late January and carries through to the beginning of March.
• The kits are born in April or May with usually between 1 and 9 young in a litter.
• The young leave the mother at 6 months, where the females reach a sexual mature age the following spring.
• 3 km is the average territory of an adult raccoon but the young have been recorded to travel 150 km.
• Albino raccoon kits are not uncommon, but normally they will not live long in the wild and usually have weak immune systems and can be deaf or blind at the same time.