Northern raccoon

Language English

Onglets

Description

Distinguishing features

The stocky body of the northern racoon varies in colour from one region to another, ranging from grey to reddish-brown. It has short legs. Its front paws with five toes look like small human hands and make it remarkably dextrous.

A raccoon’s hind paws also have five toes that it can turn backward when climbing down a tree. This is a common adaptation for many small tree-dwelling mammals (like squirrels) but quite exceptional for animals as large as a raccoon. Animals like cats without this adaptation find it more difficult to make their way down from a perch.

It has short, rounded ears on a broad head. Its nose is black and pointed. Its eyes are black. The female is generally smaller than the male.

Reproduction

Breeding season is from February to June, but most northern raccoons mate in March. During this period, the male expands his territory to overlap with that of a number of females (he mates with several females).

After mating, the pair separates and the female cares for her offspring (called kits). Raccoons usually have only one litter a year. Gestation lasts 63 to 65 days, with 3 to 4 kits per litter (4 on average). Newborns weigh 80 g.

The kits are born blind. They open their eyes 18 to 24 days after birth. They are weaned at 70 days. By the twentieth week, the young start following their mother at nighttime when she goes hunting for food.

The young stay with their mother over the winter and gain independence the following spring. Females reach sexual maturity before one year of age, while males are later, around age two.

Diet

Northern raccoons are opportunistic, eating everything (omnivores). In some places, they are more herbivorous than carnivorous, eating fruit (wild grapes, cherries, apples, blueberries, etc.), acorns, roots and tubers. Raccoons will also eat peaches, plums, figs, lemons, melons, beechnuts and walnuts if they can find them.

When available, corn may make up a large part of a raccoon’s diet.

However, the northern racoons are generally largely carnivorous. Their diet then includes crayfish, insects, rodents, frogs, fish and birds’ eggs. Overall, they eat more invertebrates than vertebrates. In fact, in some areas where there is a shortage of prey, raccoons can have a significant impact on the density of these populations.

Northern raccoons are frequent visitors to trashcans and will also eat roadside carrion.

Predators

Northern raccoons’ predators include cougars, bobcats, grey wolves, red foxes, coyotes, fishers, martens, goshawks and great horned owls. Snakes sometimes eat the young. Humans are also predators, because raccoons are hunted and trapped for their fur.

Northern raccoons protect themselves from predators by remaining inactive in daytime, well hidden in their dens, and coming out only at night.

Habitat

Northern raccoons are highly intelligent animals, able to take advantage of a wide range of situations. They are found in habitats of all kinds, from the Central American and Mexican tropics to temperate regions in the United States and the most northerly ecosystems in Canada.

They do very well near people’s homes. The important thing is for them to have access to water. For that reason, they prefer cool, moist forests. Nevertheless, they are found in rural and agricultural settings as well as in suburban and urban areas.

Northern raccoons normally choose a hollow tree for a den, but may also use an old groundhog hole or a cave, mine, abandoned building, barn, garage, sewer or even a home (shed, chimney, etc.).

Ecology, behaviour

Northern raccoons are essentially active at night. During the winter, when it is very cold, they may spend many long hours sleeping in their dens, but they do not hibernate. Because their metabolism and internal temperature stay constant, they have to survive on their stored fat, and may lose up to 50 % of their body weight.

Northern raccoons can run at speeds of up to 24 km/h (15 mi/h) on the ground. They are good climbers and not afraid of falling, because they can drop for about 15 metres without getting hurt. They are also excellent swimmers. Raccoons don’t tend to roam very much, going only as far as necessary to feed and meet their basic needs (1 to 4 km a night).

Population density varies with their habitat. The largest concentration of raccoons is found in wetlands (marshes, lowlands, intertidal zones, floodplains, etc.) and the lowest in agricultural areas. Urban settings, given the right conditions, can support large raccoon populations.

Rabies is an important factor in population control. When the rabies virus is absent, northern raccoon populations may double.

An individual’s territory covers 1 to 3 km2. Although raccoon are solitary animals, they are not very territorial and are happy to share with other raccoons.

Northern raccoons have a poor color vision seeing the world mostly in shades of grey. They do have excellent night vision, however, along with a highly developed sense of hearing.

French name

Raton laveur

Scientific name

Procyon lotor

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Carnivora

Family

Procyonidae

Size

Total length (with tail): 60 to 95 cm Length of tail: 19 to 40 cm

Weight

2 to 10 kg (average: 6 kg) Maximum: 28 kg in the fall

Life span

Average in the wild: 5 years Maximum in the wild: 16 years In captivity: 22 years

Status

Least concern, IUCN Red List

Menu header en

Languages

Space for life

About Us

Menu header Billetterie en

Global menu

Space for Life on social media

Explore the splendours of the sky

Monthly Sky

Support the Space for Life

Montréal Space for Life Foundation

Subscribe to the Naturally curious newsletter

School newsletter

Our institutions’ expertise

Research and conservation at Space for Life