RACCOONS

COMMON RACCOON

The raccoon family has evolved from about 29 million years and are descended from the dog family. During the time when Europe and North America were joined together they were spreading all over. The raccoons are now only found in North and South America for the exception of the pandas which are related.

The raccoons' family's characteristics are small to medium size, thick fur and the body is long with a long tail. The tail has often darker coloured rings and their faces striking markings which look like a bandit with an eye mask

They all good climbers and walk like bears or human on their soles of their feet instead of their toes. Their feet have five toes with claws that bent backwards. It was first thought that they are only eating meat but on a closer observation it was discover that they eat a wide variety of food. Only one species eats mainly fish.

Most of them are active at night and stay either in hollow trees or in tense undergrowth during the day. Other than that in crevices or dens
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Six varieties of raccoons are in their family and they are spread across the whole area. The common raccoon is the most popular and well known. They cover an area from the south of Canada and right through Central America. Their fur is grey and sometimes almost black and has a brown or red tinge especially round the neck. The tail has five to ten rings. On the face is a white-edge with black eye-mask which is so well known. The head is a bit like of a fox but broader and their ears are upright, short and rounded.

They can live in a variety of habitats but prefer woods or forests especially if it is near water like lakes, streams, ponds or swamps. They are not found above 2500m. Their walk is slow with the head down and their back arched and their tail tangling. They can speed off unbelievable if necessary and swim very well.

On a whole they are solitary animals and when they meet other raccoon they attack. Where there is a lot of food they are together in a group. They are well known for raiding the dustbins or rubbish tips.

Their diet is of an unbelievable variety. They eat vegetables, grapes, fruit, berries, nuts, grasses and various leaves. Their prey is grubs, crickets, grasshoppers, and small mammals like squirrels, voles, and deer mice, earthworms, crustaceans, snails, reptiles, turtles and their eggs, frogs, bird's eggs, nestlings. Only the crap-eating raccoon eats crabs, fish but it has also further variety of all kinds of animals which are around its area.

The common raccoon not only shelters in hollow trees or makes its den in rock crevices it also takes over abandoned burrows of other animals. Furthermore, it goes into sheds or other outbuildings. In the harsh northern part of the country it stays quite for long days in its shelter during the worst part of the winter. However, it does not hibernate because its heartbeat does not slow down nor the body temperature. It stays there and lives off its fat which it builds up during the summer and autumn.

Raccoons' mating season is during late January and early February. The male looks for a female over an area and sometimes a large area. The male stays with the female in her den for a few days during this time and then moves on to find another female.

The female, however, only mates with one male each time. The gestation is of about 63 days and she slows down considerable during this time. She gives birth to up to seven cups in late spring. The babies weigh 50-70g and are 16cm long including the tail which is one-third. They are completely dependable and blind until they are about three weeks old. Then they venture to the entrance about four or five weeks later. When the female moves them she does it like a cat its kitten.

At about ten weeks old they go with their mother looking for food. If there is danger they go up the trees and their mother defends them variously. When they are weaned at four months they move out but only sometimes they stay for the winter. Then the mother drives them away because she is ready to mate.

The common raccoon was only to be found in the Americas but now has been successfully introduced into Asia and Europe.