Common Raccoon

Breeding:
Mates January-March; litter of 1-8 young born April-May after gestation of 63 days. Birth weight 2 oz (60g).

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 though most of U.S. except for portion of Rocky Mountains, c Nevada, Utah, and Arizona.

Native only to the America, the Common Raccoon is nocturnal and solitary except when breeding or caring for it young. An accomplished climber it can ascent 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 hind foot 180 degrees. On the ground this animal usually walks, but it can round 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 period in winter and sometimes even forages then, but it does not need to feed, as it stores a third or so of it 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. The Common Raccoon can tips over or climb 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 names is derived from aroughcoune, and Algonquin Indian work meaning “ he scratches with his hands.”)

Sign:
Crayfish leaving along shores, steams, or ponds; broken stalks, shredded husks scattered kernels, and gnawed con ends in cornfields.
Den: Usually a hollow tree, sometimes with scratched or torn bark; may have scat accumulated at base. Fissures, burrows, old chimneys or buildings, and other protected spots may also be used.
Scat: Droppings inconsistent in shape but generally cylindrical, uniform in diameter, about 2” long; granular, varying from black to reddish and sometimes bleached white. Scat resembles that of Virginia Opossum and skunks, nut is often deposited on logs, large tree limbs, or stones crossing a steam.

Problem:
Raccoons love to break into almost anything. You can find them n your attic RV, boat, car, or chimney. Or if you have doggie door you might even find in you bed! These animals carry a lot of different disease such as rabies, raccoon round worm, and more. Needless to say, they are just not food to live with.