Introductory Animal Profile: North American Raccoon (2024)

This month is dedicated to a particularly curious and clever explorer with a ringed tail who loves to roam at night behind a dark, furry little mask. Any guesses? You got it! We will be learning all about the North American Raccoon, who is a native resident of North America and spans the continent from Canada to Mexico!

Raccoons have a distinct appearance that sets them apart from other animals. Their round faces are marked with dark patches around their eyes which give them a mysterious, masked look, like they're up to something mischievous. But scientists actually believe that this distinctive coloring around their eyes has a purpose, thinking that it may help reduce glare, improving their night vision. Raccoons’ soft fur and bushy tails, banded with five to ten rings, make them even more charming. But what's truly remarkable about raccoons is their dexterous paws. Each is equipped with five fingers which enable them to climb with ease and forage resourcefully. Though they lack opposable thumbs like humans have, their first and fifth fingers are lower than the rest on each hand, allowing those fingers to reach towards one another across the paw to pinch and grasp things. The way in which a raccoon uses its paws was also noted by Native Americans. In fact, the very name “raccoon” came from a Native American Powhatan word which means “animal that scratches with its hands.” A raccoon’s hind feet can swivel too, rotating an incredible 180 degrees, making them outstanding climbers and swimmers. While swimming, raccoons can stay in the water for up to two hours at a time!

These mammals are adaptive adventurers when it comes to their living environments. As long as they have a source of water nearby, they can be found in a variety of places, ranging from dense forests to arid climates to bustling cities. Whether you live in the center of a sprawling city or far from the hustle and bustle, there's a chance you might spot these masked critters, out on an exploratory adventure.

Raccoons are creatures of the night, making them nocturnal animals (though they sometimes do come out during daylight hours if necessary to meet a pressing need like finding food or water). As the sun drowsily dips below the horizon and darkness begins to blanket the world, raccoons come to life! Their night vision and sense of smell are quite keen, allowing them to navigate and find food in the dark without trouble. Each raccoon has a special layer in its eyes called the "tapetum lucidum," which is a reflective tissue that helps it see clearly in low-light conditions. So, it’s kind of like they have their own special pair of night vision goggles! Interestingly, because their night vision is specially adapted for low light conditions, they’re not very good at distinguishing color. This is because they have more rods than cones in their eyes. Rods are tiny sensors that help detect light, while cones are tiny sensors that help distinguish color. Humans have three types of cones to help us see a wide range of colors, but raccoons only have two. A study in 2015 discovered that raccoons can tell the difference between yellow and blue, but not green and red.

Even though a raccoon’s night vision is excellent, that isn’t its most heightened and impressive sense- touch is! Their amazingly fine-tuned ability to feel is helped, in part, by the presence of whiskers called “vibrissae” on their feet, which extend just beyond their claws! Their sense of touch is also further enhanced by water, which is why raccoons often like to examine the items they are working with while immersed. Incredibly, a raccoon’s sense of touch is so dominant that as much as 3/4 of the portion of their brain which processes sensory input is dedicated to the sense of touch alone! All of these facts combined makes them true masters of nighttime exploration!

Raccoons are known for their intelligence, curiosity and clever ability to problem-solve. They are very observant and learn quickly. Some have been observed unlatching locks, unscrewing lids, and inventing creative solutions to grant them access to tricky trash cans or other high-value objects. They also have an exceptional memory. Once they learn a particular route or solve a problem, they can remember it for years! This makes them quick learners and brilliant puzzle solvers. Their intelligence and inquisitive personalities make them the perfect detectives of the animal kingdom.

Raccoons are not picky eaters. They are flexible omnivores with a widely varied diet. From tasty fruits and nuts to foods rich in protein such as insects and small fish, frogs and mammals, raccoons are dietary opportunists who enjoy exploring various food sources to satisfy their curious taste buds. Raccoons even have the fascinating habit of “washing” their food in water before eating, much like we wash our hands before meals. This habit is called “dousing” and is believed to help them figure out if their food is fit to eat, since their sense of touch is enhanced by water.

Raccoons can live in earthen dens or trees, and they may have more than one den. They were originally thought to live a solitary life, but evidence has since shown that related females, or “sows,” tend to live together in groups, and unrelated males, or “boars,” sometimes do the same. Groups of raccoons are known as "nurseries" or "gazes.” Sometimes these groups are flexible with territory boundaries that may overlap, and some groups will casually socialize. A boar can weigh as much as 23 pounds or more (about double the weight of an average cat) and can reach up to 38 inches in length, while sows are usually a bit smaller.

When pregnant, a sow will often separate herself to raise her kits apart from other raccoons. Sows do not receive any assistance from boars in raising their young, but they are exceptional parents, passing down all essential survival skills to their babies, known as “kits.” Young raccoons are quite cute and are usually born in the spring. A typical litter consists of two to five kits, and they are born blind and deaf, relying entirely on their mama for care and protection. In as little as eight weeks they will start exploring the world outside their den, and once they reach about five months of age, they have begun to hunt small creatures like insects and mice independently. Kits often stay with their mother for about a year. By the time the sow is expecting another litter, all of her previous kits will have left to find their own way (or, if female, they may have settled into the social structure of their mother’s social group).

Palouse Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation will often receive quite a few kits in need of rehabilitation and release during the spring and early summer months. A healthy raccoon kit is usually an eager eater, vigorously drinking its bottle of specialized formula with great gusto. Below, you can see photos of two PWRR volunteers, John Hartman and Aleta Sonnenberg, receiving cross-training on how to feed rescued baby raccoons. It is important for our volunteers to consistently cross-train in areas outside of their usual specialties so that they can lend a hand when a volunteer has an unexpected absence or when we have an unusually high number of clinic patients (as we often do during “baby season” in the spring and summer months).

During the winter, raccoons do not hibernate, but they do enter a state called “torpor” in which their body temperature lowers, their metabolism slows down, and they sleep much more often in order to conserve as much energy as possible. During the fall, raccoons will pack on as many pounds as they can to prepare for winter, when they will lose as much as 50% of their body weight while in torpor. Their dense fur helps to keep them warm during the winter months. Though raccoons do occasionally explore during the day yearround, during the winter months, their nocturnal nature can be affected by frigid nighttime temperatures, which influence raccoons to sleep more at night and come out to look for food and water during the warmer, daytime hours.

Though raccoons look so cute and adorable, please remember that they also possess some fierce survival skills. Raccoons are agile climbers, and if they sense danger, they can quickly escape by climbing up trees, out of reach of their predators. However, if they feel cornered or forced to face a danger head-on, their sharp claws and teeth act as formidable defense mechanisms. They can also carry diseases, some of which can pose a concern for human health. But not to worry- as the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife confirms, “as long as raccoons are kept out of human homes, not cornered, and not treated as pets, they are not dangerous.” So, though they often look sweet and cuddly, please remember that they are wild animals with powerful defenses who need their space and should not be approached. If you find a raccoon that appears to need help, please contact your local rehabber for proper instruction before proceeding!

As much as we find raccoons fascinating and delightful, we must also remember the importance of protecting them and their natural habitat. Though we may occasionally spot them exploring or scavenging in our area, it is crucial for us to give them their space and not feed them, allowing them to keep their wild instincts sharp and find their natural foods in natural ways. Preserving their wild habitats and keeping our own surroundings clean and trash-free are also essential steps in ensuring the well-being of these amazing masked adventurers. By respecting their environment and keeping our own clean and tidy, we can continue to enjoy the presence of raccoons in nature.