Raccoon Factfile
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Scientific Name : Procyon lotor
World Distribution
Raccoons are widespread in southern Canada, North America and central America.
Habitat
Given the choice, raccoons prefer to live in woodland areas near to water, whhere they can build dens in tree holes to sleep in during the day. Gowever, they will actually live almost anywhere, making dens in old burrows, caves, or even cellars or chimneys!
Feeding
Their favourite
foods are fruit, insects, crayfish, rodents, frogs and birds' eggs. If thes
are not availabble they will eat almost anything they can find - even scraps
from dustbins and animals which have been killed by cars. They have made themselves
rather unpopular with farmers because they often steas corn from the fields.
For many years people believed that raccoons washed their food before eating
it because raccoons in captivity often dip their food in water. It is more
likely that they are just carrying out the natural behaviour of "catching"
prey like frogs or crayfish .
Predators
Raccoons have few natural predators apart from man (they are hunted widely for sport and for their fur). However they are occasionally eaten by bobcats, foxes, eagles and owls. A threatened raccoon will defend itself fiercely.
Breeding
Raccoons usually live alone - a group of raccoons is likely to be a mother with her young. Sometimes the male hangs about with the female until the young are born.
A female raccoon has one litter of about 3-4 each year. The babies are helpless and blind at birth and do not venture out of the den until they are about six weeks old. Their mother protects them fiercely and stays with them for a whole year, by which time the females will be old enough to breed themselves. Males do not breed until they are two years old.
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