Raccoon

About the raccoon

The raccoon, sometimes called the North American, northern, or common raccoon, is a mammal native to North America and the largest member of the procyonid family. It has a body length of 40 to 70 cm (16 to 28 in) and a body weight of 5 to 26 kg (11 to 57 lb), with a grayish coat whose dense underfur — nearly 90% of the coat — insulates it against cold weather. Its most recognizable features are its black "bandit's mask" of fur around the eyes, its ringed tail, and its extremely dexterous front paws, all of which figure prominently in the mythologies of Indigenous peoples of the Americas.

Raccoons are usually nocturnal and omnivorous, and they're known for their intelligence: studies have shown they can remember the solution to a task for at least three years. Their skulls have a short, wide facial region and a voluminous braincase, with 40 teeth adapted to an omnivorous diet — carnassials less sharp than a full-time carnivore's, but molars narrower than a herbivore's. Males typically run 15 to 20% heavier than females, and a raccoon's weight can nearly double between spring and the start of winter as it stores fat. The largest wild raccoon on record weighed 28.4 kg (63 lb) and measured 140 cm (55 in).

The raccoon's original habitat is deciduous and mixed forest, but its adaptability has carried it into mountainous areas, coastal marshes, and cities, where some homeowners consider it a pest. Escapes and deliberate introductions in the mid-20th century have also established feral populations in central Europe, the Caucasus, and Japan; in the European Union, the raccoon has been listed as an invasive species of Union concern since 2016.

Behavior and diet

Raccoons were long assumed to be solitary, but evidence now points to sex-specific social behavior: related females often share a common area, while unrelated males may live in groups of up to four to defend their standing against rival males during the mating season. Home ranges vary enormously with habitat, from about 3 ha (7.4 acres) for females in cities to 5,000 ha (19 sq mi) for males on the prairie. Raccoons are plantigrade and can stand on their hind legs to examine objects with their front paws, though their short legs relative to a compact torso limit how fast they can run. They can swim at about 5 km/h (3.1 mph) and stay in water for hours, and they can climb down a tree headfirst by rotating their hind feet backward — an unusual trick for a mammal their size.

Touch is the raccoon's most important sense. Its hyper-sensitive front paws are covered by a thin horny layer that becomes pliable when wet, and almost two-thirds of the raccoon's sensory cortex is devoted to interpreting touch — more than in any other studied animal. Raccoons are thought to be color blind or nearly so, but their hearing is broad, picking up tones from 50 to 85 kHz. Their diet is about 40% invertebrates, 33% plants, and 27% vertebrates, making them true omnivores.

After a gestation of about 65 days, a litter of two to five kits is born in spring; the mother raises them alone until they disperse in late fall. Seven of the thirteen identified raccoon vocalizations are used between mother and kits, including a birdlike twittering call made by newborns. In the wild, hunting and vehicle strikes are the two leading causes of death.

Range and habitat

The raccoon is native to North America, where its original habitat was deciduous and mixed forest. Its adaptability has since carried it into mountainous terrain, coastal marshes, and cities and suburbs across its range. Twenty-two subspecies are recognized, and their ranges differ somewhat: the eastern raccoon occupies U.S. states and Canadian provinces north of South Carolina and Tennessee, while the Upper Mississippi Valley raccoon's range covers the states and provinces north of Louisiana, Texas, and New Mexico. The smallest subspecies live along the southern coast of Florida and nearby islands, while raccoons near the northern edge of the range tend to be the largest.

Deliberate introductions and escapes in the mid-20th century established feral populations outside North America, including in central Europe, the Caucasus, and Japan, where raccoons are now considered invasive and, in the EU, are barred from import, breeding, transport, sale, or intentional release.

Conservation status

The raccoon is listed as Least Concern (LC). It is not a species of conservation concern, and its wide native range across North America, along with established feral populations on other continents, reflects its broad tolerance for different habitats — from forest to farmland to city center. No specific conservation programs for the species are described here, which is consistent with a Least Concern listing: raccoons are common and, in many areas, are managed as a nuisance species rather than a species in need of protection.