North America Range: Procyon

IDENTIFICATION period is about 63 days.
Most
Raccoons are mammals litters are born in April or
with a distinctive black mask May. Only one litter of young
over the eyes and rings on is raised each year. Average
their bushy tails. Raccoons litter size is three to five kits.
weigh from 10 to 30 pounds The young open their eyes at
North America Range and are two to three feet about three weeks and are
Raccoons are found throughout long. Raccoons are salt and weaned between two and
the United States. However, they pepper gray and black al- four months. The female,
are not found at the higher eleva- though some appear washed called a sow, and her young
tions of mountainous regions and with a yellow color. will usually remain together
in some areas of the arid South- for the first year and the
west. Raccoons are common in HABITAT young will often den for the
the wooded eastern part of the
Raccoons are commonly winter with her. The following
United States.
found in areas with water and spring the yearlings go off on
trees. Raccoons den in hol- their own.
low trees, ground burrows,
brush piles, muskrat houses, Raccoons are nocturnal.
barns, abandoned buildings, This means they are most
dense clumps of cattails, active at night. Adult males,
haystacks or rock crevices. called boars, travel an area of
Raccoons also live success- three to 20 square miles. A
fully in urban areas. female raccoon will travel
one to six square miles. Rac-
HABITS coons do not hibernate, but
Raccoons are omnivores. they do “hole-up” in dens and
This means they eat both become inactive during se-
plants and animals. Plant vere winter weather.
foods include all types of
fruits, berries, nuts, acorns, Raccoon populations are
corn and other types of grain. made up mostly of young ani-
Animal foods are crayfish, mals. In the fall, one-half to
clams, fish, frogs, snails, in- three-fourths of the raccoons
sects, turtles, turtle eggs, are less than one year old.
mice, rabbits, muskrats and On very rare occasions a
the eggs and young of raccoon can live to be 12
ground-nesting birds. years old in the wild.
Raccoons normally breed in
February or March. Gestation
Procyon
Contrary to popular myth, raccoons do not always wash their food before eating,
although they frequently play with their food in water.
Living in harmony . . . Living in conflict . . .
Most of the time, raccoons and humans live • raccoons sometimes carry rabies
in harmony. • raccoons prey on poultry, quail, pheasants,
• people enjoy watching raccoons in the wild turkeys, young and eggs of waterfowl
• raccoons provide millions of dollars to the • raccoons cause damage to crops such as
economy by those hunting them corn, melons, fruits, vegetables and grains
• raccoons have excellent fur, making it very • raccoons are an urban pest when they
valuable for clothing and it is a renewable re- get into trash, into people’s homes and
source chimneys
• raccoons provide a food resource in some • raccoons can spread parasites like round-
parts of the U.S. worms from fecal droppings to pets and
humans
• raccoons spread distemper to pets and other
animals
The best way to prevent damage problems. First step is to remove

by raccoons is to keep them out of sources of food, water and
an area. Fence them out by using shelter. Do not feed raccoons!
an electric fence turned on at Raccoons are easy to catch in live
night. Store garbage in cans with traps, but it takes a sturdy trap to
tight fitting lids. Cans should be hold one. Studies show relocated
secured to a rack to keep rac- raccoons tend to cause problems
coons from tipping them over. in new areas. Regulated trapping
To keep raccoons out of chim- and hunting are the most effective
neys, fasten a heavy screen or control techniques in managing
cap designed to keep birds and raccoons. However, shooting in
mammals out of the chimney. most towns and cities is illegal.
It is difficult to scare raccoons
away by modifying their envi-
ronment or by using devices
to scare raccoons. There are
no repellents that work to
persuade raccoons to stay
away from an area. Because
they have a fairly large
territory, a neighborhood or
community-wide effort may be
needed to solve raccoon Hind foot is 4 1/2 inches
Because they will eat just about anything, raccoons almost never starve.
Raccoons can be serious pests. They have been known to coons in the wild? Researchers have found that they can
prey on pets and can damage crops. Raccoons may carry drop food with the vaccine in it from airplanes. The rac-
diseases such as canine distemper, trichinosis, coons find the food and eat it and become vaccinated
rabies, leptospirosis, tularemia and Chagas’ disease. against rabies.
A big concern with raccoons is that they might carry and Unfortunately, raccoons will sometimes eat the eggs and
spread rabies. A new rabies vaccine for raccoons has been young of endangered animals like the sea turtle.
developed. Now just how do you go about vaccinating rac-
The name raccoon comes from the Algonquian

Indian word arakun, meaning “scratches with his
hand.” The species name, lotor, is Latin for
“washer” and refers to the raccoon’s habit of
washing food with its front paws.
In the United States, raccoons have been

harvested for fur through regulated trapping.
Raccoon fur harvesting generated $400,000 in
1934 and $5.1 million in 1980. The raccoon is
the most economically important of all the fur-
bearing animals harvested.
During the roaring 20s and the 30s, the “coon

skin coat” was in style. In the 1950s when Davy
Crockett and Daniel Boone were made popular
through television and movies, the “coon skin
cap” was very popular for
young boys.
Suffix “vore” means . . . Use a dictionary and define carnivore:

“Vore” comes from the suffix “vorous” which ________________________________________
means eating. “Omni” means all. Raccoons are List two carnivores:
omnivores. These means they eat both plants ________________________________________
and animals. List five other omnivores. ________________________________________
________________________________________ Use a dictionary to define herbivore:
________________________________________ ________________________________________
________________________________________ ________________________________________
________________________________________ List two herbivores:
________________________________________ ________________________________________
________________________________________
ACROSS: 3. renewable, 5. sow, 6. repellents, 8. kits, 10. furbearer, 11. omnivore

DOWN: 1. herbivore, 2. rabies, 3. raccoon, 4. carnivore, 7. litter, 9. urban
by You
ACROSS 1 2
3. resource that grows or
is replaced 3
5. female raccoon
6. chemicals used to
repel animals
8. young raccoons
10. animal that is important 4
for its fur
11. animal that eats both plants 5
and animals
6 7
DOWN
1. an animal that eats plants
2. disease raccoons often carry
3. Procyon lotor 8
4. an animal that eats other

animals 9
7. group of young born to a

10
raccoon
9. opposite of rural
11
Dec 17,1998
Wildlife Activity Book and Prevention and Control of Jack H. Berryman Institute
1998 Wildlife Issue of the Wildlife Damage CD ROM for Wildlife Damage
Colorado Reader or Handbook Management
Colorado Foundation for 202 Natural Resource Hall Utah State University
Agriculture University of Nebraska Logan, Utah 83431-5210
P.O. Box 10 P.O. Box 83819
Livermore, CO 80536 Lincoln, NE 68583
This activity sheet has been developed by USDA Wildlife Services. For more information about raccoons
contact your state’s Wildlife Services office or USDA Wildlife Services at 301 734-7921.

North America Range: Procyon

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IDENTIFICATION period is about 63 days.

The best way to prevent damage problems. First step is to remove

The name raccoon comes from the Algonquian

In the United States, raccoons have been

During the roaring 20s and the 30s, the “coon

Suffix “vore” means . . . Use a dictionary and define carnivore:

ACROSS: 3. renewable, 5. sow, 6. repellents, 8. kits, 10. furbearer, 11. omnivore

4. an animal that eats other

7. group of young born to a

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