Racoon Trivia | 40 facts about the animal

The raccoon is a mammal. Raccoons are curious, clever, and solitary. They are originally from North America, but the have spread through Central America.

Let’s find out more about the animal!

1. The raccoon is a mammal native to North America.
2. Raccoon is also spelled racoon, and sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species,
3. It is the largest of the procyonid family.
4. 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).
5. Its grayish coat mostly consists of dense underfur, which insulates it against cold weather.
6. Three of the raccoon’s most distinctive features are its extremely dexterous front paws, its facial mask, and its ringed tail.
7. These characteristics are themes in the mythologies of the indigenous peoples of the Americas relating to the animal.
8. The raccoon is noted for its intelligence.
9. Studies show that it is able to remember the solution to tasks for at least three years.
10. It is usually nocturnal and omnivorous, eating about 40% invertebrates, 33% plants, and 27% vertebrates.
11. The original habitats of the raccoon are deciduous and mixed forests, but due to their adaptability, they have extended their range to mountainous areas, coastal marshes, and urban areas, where some homeowners consider them to be pests.
12. As a result of escapes and deliberate introductions in the mid-20th century, raccoons are now also distributed across central Europe, the Caucasus, and Japan.
13. In Europe, the raccoon is included since 2016 in the list of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern (the Union list).
14. This implies that this species cannot be imported, bred, transported, commercialized, or intentionally released into the environment in the whole of the European Union.
15. Though previously thought to be generally solitary, there is now evidence that raccoons engage in sex-specific social behavior.
16. Related females often share a common area, while unrelated males live together in groups of up to four raccoons in order to maintain their positions against foreign males during the mating season and against other potential invaders.
17. Home range sizes vary anywhere from 3 ha (7.4 acres) for females in cities, to 5,000 ha (12,000 acres) for males in prairies.
18. After a gestation period of about 65 days, two to five young known as “kits” are born in spring.
19. The kits are subsequently raised by their mother until dispersal in late fall.
20. Although captive raccoons have been known to live over 20 years.
21. Their life expectancy in the wild is only 1.8 to 3.1 years.
22. In many areas, hunting and vehicular injury are the two most common causes of death.
23. After a gestation period (pregnancy) of about 65 days, two to five young are born in spring.
24. Newborn raccoons are called “kits”.
25. They often seem to wash their food before they dine.
26. If there’s no water around, they still go through the same motions, moving their forepaws around on their food and lifting it up and down.
27. However wildlife biologists believe that raccoons have very sensitive nerves on the fingers of their front paws. When they are foraging for food in water, they are feeling around with their paws to gather sensory information.
28. In a study of 136 raccoons, researchers in Nova Scotia found that wetting the skin helped increase the responsiveness of those nerves.
29. But even when there’s no water around, the dunking ritual helps them grip their food and get it to their mouths
30. Raccoons are known for their bandit-like dark face masks.
31. One theory is that the distinctive dark markings help deflect the sun’s glare and also may enhance night vision.
32. Some researchers have theorized that dark masks work in animals to hide their eyes from predators.
33. But a study published in Biological Journal concluded that the dark patterns are most likely anti-glare devices.
34. Raccoons have readily adapted to living alongside people.
35. According to the IUCN, the Northern raccoon is a species of “least concern,” and its population numbers are rising.
36. While there are no major threats to the survival of raccoons, they do face dangers. They are hunted for sport and trapped for their fur. In suburban locations and near water, raccoons are one of the more frequent victims of roadkill.
37. Additionally, raccoons are often hunted, trapped, and poisoned by homeowners and farmers who consider them a pest. In other human environments they are actually considered pest control, like in the San Diego Zoo, where they help manage rodent populations.
38. After bats, raccoons are the second most frequently reported rabid wildlife species, according to the CDC
39. They can carry it without any outward signs or symptoms.
40. Between 2009 and 2019, only 25 cases of human rabies were reported in the U.S., and just two of those cases were associated with raccoons