Raccoon

{{Short description|Medium-sized mammal native to North America}} {{Other uses}} {{redirect|Trash panda|the baseball team|Rocket City Trash Pandas}} {{protection padlock|small=yes|}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2025}} {{Speciesbox | name = Raccoon | fossil_range = {{fossil range |Pliocene|present}} | image = Raccoon in Central Park (35264).jpg | image_caption = Eastern raccoon (''P. l. lotor''), [[Central Park]] in New York City | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |title=''Procyon lotor'' |name-list-style=amp |author1=Timm, R. |author2=Cuarón, A.D. |author3=Reid, F. |author4=Helgen, K. |author5=González-Maya, J.F. |article-number=e.T41686A45216638 |year=2016 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T41686A45216638.en |access-date=February 19, 2022}}</ref> | status2 = G5 | status2_system = TNC | status2_ref = <ref>{{cite web |title=Procyon lotor |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.798324/Procyon_lotor |website=Natureserve Explorer |access-date=April 17, 2024}}</ref> | genus = Procyon | species = lotor | authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758) | range_map = Raccoon-range.png | range_map_caption = Native range in red, introduced range in blue | synonyms = *''Ursus lotor'' <small>Linnaeus, 1758</small> }}

The '''raccoon''' ({{IPAc-en|r|ə|ˈ|k|uː|n}} or {{IPAc-en|audio=en-us-raccoon.ogg|US|r|æ|ˈ|k|uː|n}}, '''''Procyon lotor'''''), sometimes called the '''North American''', '''northern''' or '''common raccoon''' (also spelled '''racoon''')<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/racoon|title=RACOON &#124; English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary}}</ref> to distinguish it from [[Procyonina|other species of raccoon]], is a [[mammal]] native to [[North America]]. It is the largest of the [[procyonid]] family, having a body length of {{cvt|40|to|70|cm}}, and a body weight of {{cvt|5|to|26|kg}}. Its grayish coat mostly consists of dense [[underfur]], which insulates it against cold weather. The animal's most distinctive features include its extremely dexterous front [[paw]]s, its facial mask, and its ringed tail, which are common themes in the [[mythologies of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas]] surrounding the species. The raccoon is noted for its [[animal cognition|intelligence]], and studies show that it can remember the solution to tasks for at least three years. It is usually [[nocturnal]] and [[omnivorous]], eating about 40% [[invertebrate]]s, 33% [[plant]]s, and 27% [[vertebrate]]s.

The original [[habitat]]s of the raccoon are [[deciduous]] and [[temperate broadleaf and mixed forests|mixed forests]]. Still, due to their adaptability, they have extended their range to mountainous areas, [[coastal marsh]]es, and [[urban area]]s, where some homeowners consider them to be [[Pest (organism)|pests]]. As a result of escapes and deliberate [[introduced species|introductions]] in the mid-20th century, raccoons are now also distributed across [[central Europe]], the [[Caucasus]], and [[Japan]]. In Europe, the raccoon has been included on the list of Invasive Alien Species of Union Concern since 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|title=List of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern - Environment - European Commission|url=https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/invasivealien/list/index_en.htm|access-date=July 27, 2021|website=ec.europa.eu}}</ref> This implies that this species cannot be imported, bred, transported, commercialized, or intentionally released into the environment in the whole of the [[European Union]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32014R1143&from=EN|title=REGULATION (EU) No 1143/2014 of the European parliament and of the council of 22 October 2014 on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species}}</ref>

Though raccoons were previously thought to be generally solitary, there is now evidence that they engage in sex-specific [[social behavior]]. Related females often share a common area, while unrelated males live together in groups of up to four raccoons to maintain their positions against foreign males during the mating season and against other potential invaders. [[Home range]] sizes vary anywhere from {{cvt|3|ha}} for females in cities, to {{cvt|5000|ha|km2 sqmi}} for males in [[prairie]]s. After a [[gestation]] of about 65 days, two to five young known as "kits" are born in spring. The kits are subsequently raised by their mother until dispersal in late fall. Although captive raccoons have been known to live over 20 years, their life expectancy in the wild is only 1.8 to 3.1 years. In many areas, [[hunting]] and vehicular injury are the two most common causes of death.

==Etymology== [[File:Raccoon (Procyon lotor) 2.jpg|thumb|The mask of a raccoon is often interrupted by a brown-black streak that extends from forehead to nose.{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|p=5}}]]

Names for the species include the '''common raccoon''',{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=42}} '''North American raccoon''',{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=1}} and '''northern raccoon'''.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Larivière|first=Serge|year=2004|title=Range expansion of raccoons in the Canadian prairies: review of hypotheses|journal=Wildlife Society Bulletin|volume=32|issue=3|pages=955–963|issn = 0091-7648|doi=10.2193/0091-7648(2004)032[0955:REORIT]2.0.CO;2|s2cid=86325289 }}</ref> In various North American native languages, the reference to the animal's manual dexterity, or use of its hands, is the source for the names.<ref name ="zeveloff">Zeveloff, Samuel I. ''Raccoons: A Natural History''. United States: Smithsonian, 2013.</ref> The word ''raccoon'' was adopted into English from the native [[Powhatan language|Powhatan]] term meaning 'animal that scratches with its hands',{{Better source needed|date=May 2025}} as used in the [[Colony of Virginia]]. It was recorded on [[John Smith (explorer)|John Smith]]'s list of Powhatan words as {{Lang|pim|aroughcun}}, and on that of [[William Strachey]] as {{Lang|pim|arathkone}}.<ref>Other attested colonial spellings of the Powhatan word include: ''racone'', ''arrathcune'', ''arathcoon'', ''aroucoun'', and ''rahaughcun''. {{cite journal | last1 = Vogel | first1 = Virgil J. | year = 1962 | title = Indian Place Names in Illinois | journal = Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society | volume = 55 | issue = 4 | pages = 385–458 | jstor = 40190265}}</ref> It has also been identified as a reflex of a [[Proto-Algonquian language|Proto-Algonquian]] root {{Lang|alg-x-proto|*ahrah-koon-em}}, meaning '[the] one who rubs, scrubs and scratches with its hands'.{{sfn|Holmgren|1990|p=157}}{{Better source needed|date=May 2025}} The word is sometimes spelled as '''''racoon'''''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Seidl|first1=Jennifer|last2=McMordie |first2=W. |editor1-last=Fowler |editor1-first=F.G. |editor2-last=Fowler |editor2-first=H.W. |editor3-last=Sykes |editor3-first=John Bradbury |title=The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English |publisher=Clarendon Press |location=Oxford |year=1982 |isbn=978-0-19-195872-4 |page=851}}</ref>

In [[Spanish language|Spanish]], the raccoon is called {{lang|es|mapache}}, derived from the [[Nahuatl]] {{lang|nah|mapachtli}} of the [[Aztec]]s, meaning '[the] one who takes everything in its hands'.{{sfn|Holmgren|1990|p=52}}

The taxonomic name of the raccoon is ''Procyon lotor''. The genus name, ''Procyon'', derived from the Greek {{lang|grc|προ-}} ({{Transliteration|grc|pro}}) {{gloss|before}} and {{lang|grc|κύων}} ({{Transliteration|grc|cyon}}) {{gloss|dog}}, was first given to the genus by [[Gottlieb Conrad Christian Storr]] in 1780.<ref name ="zeveloff"/><ref name="oed">{{Cite OED|Procyon|7382069290}}</ref> ''Procyon'' having been used in Classical Latin to refer to [[Procyon|a star]],<ref name="oed"/> the full name ''Procyon lotor'' means, in Latin, 'before-dog washer'.<ref name="pbs">{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/raccoon-nation-raccoon-fact-sheet/7553/ |title=Raccoon Facts |publisher=PBS Nature|date=February 7, 2012|access-date=November 29, 2020}}</ref> The animal's observed habit of "washing" or "dousing" (see below) is the source of its name in other languages.<ref>Vogt, Karl Christoph., Specht, Friedrich. Natural History of Animals: (class Mammalia--animals which Suckle Their Young) in Word and Picture. United Kingdom: D. Appleton, 1888.</ref><ref>Lydekker, Richard., Flower, William Henry. ''An Introduction to the Study of Mammals''. United Kingdom: Black, 1891.</ref> For example, the French {{lang|fr|raton laveur}} means 'washing rat'.{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=3}}

The [[colloquialism|colloquial]] abbreviation ''coon'' is used in words like ''coonskin'' for [[fur clothing]] and in phrases like ''old coon'' as a self-designation of [[trapping|trappers]].{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=2}}{{sfn|Holmgren|1990|pp=75–76}} In the 1830s, the United States [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig Party]] used the raccoon as an emblem, causing them to be pejoratively known as "coons" by their political opponents, who saw them as too sympathetic to African-Americans. Soon after that, the term became an [[ethnic slur]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Sotiroupoulos |first=Karen |title=Staging Race: Black Performers in Turn of the century America |publisher=Harvard University Press |date=2006 |page=91 |isbn=978-0-674-02760-2}}</ref> especially in use between 1880 and 1920 (see ''[[coon song]]''). The term is still considered offensive.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/radio-talk-show-host-fired-for-racial-slur-against-condoleezza-rice |title=Radio Talk Show Host Fired for Racial Slur Against Condoleezza Rice |publisher=FOX News |date=March 22, 2006 |access-date=March 19, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100308223832/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,188830,00.html |archive-date=March 8, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> Dogs bred to hunt raccoons are called ''coonhound'' and ''coon dog''.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bOapDdbRJ_QC&pg=PA83 |title=Basset Hounds |first=Joe |last=Stahlkuppe |date=December 11, 1997 |publisher=Barron's Educational Series |isbn=978-0-8120-9737-5 |access-date=December 11, 2017 |via=Google Books}}</ref> Due to having a habit of eating human garbage in urban environments, raccoons are also colloquially known as "trash pandas".<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-12-13 |title=Drunk raccoon found in liquor store suspected in karate studio break-in |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y2271q20lo |access-date=2025-12-13 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref>

== Taxonomy == {{multiple image | align = right | image1 = Raccoons of North & Middle America (1950) Skins of subgenera procyon & euprocyon.png | width1 = 65 | alt1 = | caption1 = Skins of ''P. lotor'' and ''[[crab-eating raccoon|P. cancrivorus]]'' | image2 = Raccoons of North & Middle America (1950) P. lotor & P. cancrivorus.png | width2 = 180 | alt2 = | caption2 = Skulls of ''P. lotor'' and ''P. cancrivorus'' | footer = }}

In the first decades after its discovery by the members of the expedition of [[Christopher Columbus]], who were the first Europeans to leave a written record about the species, [[Taxonomy (biology)|taxonomists]] thought the raccoon was related to many different species, including [[Canidae|dogs]], [[Felidae|cats]], [[badger]]s and particularly [[bear]]s.{{sfn|Holmgren|1990|pp=47–67}} [[Carl Linnaeus]], the father of modern taxonomy, placed the raccoon in the genus ''[[Ursus (genus)|Ursus]]'', first as ''Ursus cauda elongata'' ('long-tailed bear') in the second edition of his ''[[Systema Naturae]]'' (1740), then as ''Ursus Lotor'' ('washer bear') in the [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|tenth edition (1758–59)]].{{sfn|Holmgren|1990|pp=64–67}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|pp=4–6}} In 1780, [[Gottlieb Conrad Christian Storr]] placed the raccoon in its own genus ''[[Procyon (genus)|Procyon]]'', which can be translated as either 'before the dog' or 'doglike'.{{sfn|Holmgren|1990|pp=68–69}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=6}} It is also possible that Storr had its [[nocturnality|nocturnal]] lifestyle in mind and chose the star [[Procyon]] as eponym for the species.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=44}}{{sfn|Holmgren|1990|p=68}}

=== Evolution === Based on [[fossil]] evidence from Russia and Bulgaria, the first known members of the family [[Procyonidae]] lived in Europe in the late [[Oligocene]] about 25&nbsp;million years ago.{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=19}} Similar tooth and skull structures suggest procyonids and [[Mustelidae|weasels]] share a common ancestor, but molecular analysis indicates a closer relationship between raccoons and bears.{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|pp=16–18, 26}} After the then-existing species crossed the [[Bering Strait]] at least six million years later in the early [[Miocene]], the center of its distribution was probably in Central America.{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|pp=20, 23}} [[Coati]]s (''Nasua'' and ''Nasuella'') and raccoons (''Procyon'') have been considered to share common descent from a species in the genus ''Paranasua'' present between 5.2 and 6.0&nbsp;million years ago.{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=24}} This assumption, based on morphological comparisons of fossils, conflicts with a 2006 genetic analysis which indicates raccoons are more closely related to [[Bassariscus|ringtails]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Koepfli|first1=Klaus-Peter|last2=Gompper |first2=Matthew E. |last3=Eizirik |first3=Eduardo |last4=Ho |first4=Cheuk-Chung |last5=Linden |first5=Leif |last6=Maldonado |first6=Jesus E. |last7=Wayne |first7=Robert K. |date=June 2007|title=Phylogeny of the Procyonidae (Mammalia: Carnivora): Molecules, morphology and the Great American Interchange|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |volume=43 |issue=3 |pages=1076–1095 |issn=1055-7903 |url=http://si-pddr.si.edu/dspace/bitstream/10088/6026/1/Koepfli_2007phylogeny_of_the_procy.pdf |access-date=December 7, 2008 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2006.10.003 |pmid=17174109|bibcode=2007MolPE..43.1076K |citeseerx=10.1.1.495.2618}}</ref> Unlike other procyonids, such as the [[crab-eating raccoon]] (''Procyon cancrivorus''), the ancestors of the common raccoon left [[tropics|tropical]] and [[subtropics|subtropical]] areas and migrated farther north about 2.5&nbsp;million years ago, in a migration that has been confirmed by the discovery of fossils in the [[Great Plains]] dating back to the middle of the [[Pliocene]].{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=46}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=24}} Its most recent ancestor was likely ''Procyon rexroadensis'', a large [[Blancan]] raccoon from the [[Rexroad Formation]] characterized by its narrow back teeth and large lower jaw.<ref name="kurten1980">{{cite book |author-link=Björn Kurtén |last=Kurtén |first=Björn |date=1980 |title=Pleistocene Mammals of North America |pages=175–176 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-03733-4 }}</ref>

=== Subspecies === {{multiple image | align = right | image1 = Raccoon Cudjoe Key Florida.jpg | width1 = 190 | alt1 = | caption1 = A Torch Key raccoon (''P. l. incautus'') in [[Cudjoe Key]], Florida. Subspecies inhabiting the [[Florida Keys]] are characterized by their small size and very pale fur. | image2 = Raccoon2014.jpg | width2 = 180 | alt2 = | caption2 = Female raccoon of the Vancouver Island subspecies at [[Sidney, British Columbia]], with characteristic dark fur. | footer = }}

As of 2005, ''[[Mammal Species of the World]]'' recognizes 22 subspecies of raccoons.<ref name="msw3">{{MSW3 Carnivora | id = 14001664 | page = 627–628}}</ref> Four of these subspecies [[Endemism|living only]] on small Central American and [[Caribbean]] islands were often regarded as distinct species after their discovery. These are the [[Bahamian raccoon]] and [[Guadeloupe raccoon]], which are very similar to each other; the [[Tres Marias raccoon]], which is larger than average and has an angular skull; and the [[extinction|extinct]] [[Barbados raccoon]]. Studies of their morphological and genetic traits in 1999, 2003, and 2005 led all these [[island raccoon]]s to be listed as [[subspecies]] of the common raccoon in ''Mammal Species of the World's'' third edition. A fifth island raccoon population, the [[Cozumel raccoon]], which weighs only {{convert|3|to|4|kg|lb|1|abbr=on}} and has notably small teeth, is still regarded as a separate species.<ref name="msw3b">{{MSW3 Carnivora | id = 14001687 | page = 628}}</ref>{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|pp=42–46}}<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Helgen|first1=Kristofer M.|last2=Wilson |first2=Don E. |date=January 2003|title=Taxonomic status and conservation relevance of the raccoons (''Procyon'' spp.) of the West Indies|journal=Journal of Zoology|volume=259|issue=1|pages=69–76|issn=0952-8369|doi=10.1017/S0952836902002972|s2cid=86210627|url=http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5175/2c12c39c8a60276d89f45abd18f91678bc58.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200223155414/http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5175/2c12c39c8a60276d89f45abd18f91678bc58.pdf|archive-date=February 23, 2020}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite book|last1=Helgen|first1=Kristofer M.|last2=Wilson |first2=Don E. |editor1-last=Sánchez-Cordero |editor1-first=Víctor |editor2-last=Medellín |editor2-first=Rodrigo A.|title=Contribuciones mastozoológicas en homenaje a Bernardo Villa |chapter-url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=PQphdAd9KKcC }} |access-date=December 7, 2008|year=2005|publisher=Instituto de Ecología of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México|location=Mexico City|isbn=978-970-32-2603-0|page=230|chapter=A Systematic and Zoogeographic Overview of the Raccoons of Mexico and Central America}}</ref>

The four smallest raccoon subspecies, with a typical weight of {{convert|1.8|to|2.7|kg|lb|1|sp=us|abbr=on}}, live along the southern coast of [[Florida]] and on the adjacent islands; an example is the Ten Thousand Islands raccoon (''Procyon lotor marinus'').{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|pp=59, 82–83}} Most of the other 15 subspecies differ only slightly from each other in coat color, size and other physical characteristics.{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|p=9}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|pp=79–89}} The two most widespread subspecies are the eastern raccoon (''Procyon lotor lotor'') and the Upper Mississippi Valley raccoon (''Procyon lotor hirtus''). Both share a comparatively dark coat with long hairs, but the Upper Mississippi Valley raccoon is larger than the eastern raccoon. The eastern raccoon occurs in all U.S. states and Canadian provinces to the north of [[South Carolina]] and [[Tennessee]]. The adjacent range of the Upper Mississippi Valley raccoon covers all U.S. states and Canadian provinces to the north of [[Louisiana]], [[Texas]], and [[New Mexico]].{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|pp=79–81, 84}}

The taxonomic identity of feral raccoons inhabiting Central Europe, Causasia, and Japan is unknown, as the founding populations consisted of uncategorized specimens from zoos and fur farms.{{sfn|Heptner|Sludskii|2002|pp=1383}}

{| class="wikitable collapsed" style="width:80%;" |- style="background:#115a6c;" !Subspecies !Image !Trinomial authority !Description !Range !Synonyms |- |'''Eastern raccoon'''<br />''P. l. lotor''<br />[[Nominate subspecies]] |{{center|[[File:Raccoons of North & Middle America (1950) P. l. lotor.png|50 px]]}} |[[Linnaeus, 1758]] |A small and dark subspecies with long, soft fur.<ref name="g33">{{Harvnb|Goldman|Jackson|1950|pp=33–36}}</ref> |Nova Scotia, southern New Brunswick, southern Quebec, and southern Ontario south through the eastern United States to North Carolina, and from the Atlantic coast west to Lake Michigan, Indiana, southern Illinois, western Kentucky, and probably eastern Tennessee. |{{small|''annulatus'' (G. Fischer, 1814)}}<br /> {{small|''brachyurus'' (Wiegmann, 1837)}}<br /> {{small|''fusca'' (Burmeister, 1850)}}<br /> {{small|''gularis'' (C. E. H. Smith, 1848)}}<br /> {{small|''melanus'' (J. E. Gray, 1864)}}<br /> {{small|''obscurus'' (Wiegmann, 1837)}}<br /> {{small|''rufescens'' (de Beaux, 1910)}}<br /> {{small|''vulgaris'' (Tiedemann, 1808)}} |- |'''Key Vaca raccoon'''<br />''P. l. auspicatus'' | |Nelson, 1930 |A very small and pale-furred subspecies.<ref name="g47">{{Harvnb|Goldman|Jackson|1950|pp=47–48}}</ref> |Key Vaca and doubtless closely adjoining keys of the Key Vaca Group, a central section of the main chain off the southern coast of Florida. | |- |'''Florida raccoon'''<br />''P. l. elucus'' |{{center|[[File:Raccoons of North & Middle America (1950) P. l. elucus.png|50 px]]}} |Bangs, 1898 |Generally a medium-sized and dark-colored subspecies with a prominent rusty rufous nuchal patch.<ref name="g42">{{Harvnb|Goldman|Jackson|1950|pp=42–44}}</ref> |Peninsular Florida, except the southwestern part inhabited by ''P. l. marinus'', north to extreme southern Georgia; grading into ''P. l. varius'' in northwest Florida. | |- |'''Snake River Valley raccoon'''<br />''P. l. excelsus'' |{{center|[[File:Raccoons of North & Middle America (1950) P. l. excelsus.png|50 px]]}} |Nelson and Goldman, 1930 |A very large and pale subspecies.<ref name="g60">{{Harvnb|Goldman|Jackson|1950|pp=60–61}}</ref> |Snake River drainage in southeastern Washington, eastern Oregon, and southern Idaho, the Humboldt River Valley, Nev., and river valleys of northeastern California. | |- |'''Texas raccoon'''<br />''P. l. fuscipes'' | |Mearns, 1914 |A large, dark grayish subspecies.<ref name="g49">{{Harvnb|Goldman|Jackson|1950|pp=49–51}}</ref> |Texas, except extreme northern and western parts, southern Arkansas, Louisiana, except the delta region of Mississippi, and south into northeastern Mexico, including Coahuila and Nuevo León, to southern Tamaulipas. | |- |† '''[[Barbados raccoon]]'''<br />''P. l. gloveralleni'' | |Nelson and Goldman, 1930 |A small, dark-furred subspecies with a lightly built skull.<ref name="g79">{{Harvnb|Goldman|Jackson|1950|pp=79–80}}</ref> |Known only from the Island of Barbados. |{{small|''solutus'' (Nelson and Goldman, 1931)}} |- |'''Baja California raccoon'''<br />''P. l. grinnelli'' | |Nelson and Goldman, 1930 |A large, pale-furred subspecies with a high and broad skull.<ref name="g62">{{Harvnb|Goldman|Jackson|1950|pp=62–63}}</ref> |Southern Baja California from the Cape region north at least to San Ignacio. | |- |'''[[Mexican raccoon]]'''<br />''P. l. hernandezii'' |{{center|[[File:Raccoons of North & Middle America (1950) P. l. hernandezii.png|50 px]]}} |Wagler, 1831 |A large and dark grayish subspecies with a flattish skull and heavy dentition.<ref name="g64">{{Harvnb|Goldman|Jackson|1950|pp=64–65}}</ref> |Mexican mainland (primarily central, western, and southern Mexico), extending southward through Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and northern Panama.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fernández |first1=Jesús A. |last2=Cervantes |first2=Fernando A. |last3=Vargas |first3=María del Carmen Corona |date=2007 |title=New Distributional Records for Mammals from Tlaxcala, Mexico |journal=The Southwestern Naturalist |volume=52 |issue=2 |pages=328–333 |doi=10.1894/0038-4909(2007)52[328:NDRFMF]2.0.CO;2 |jstor=20424834 |issn=0038-4909}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> |{{small|''crassidens'' (Hollister, 1914)}}<br /> {{small|''dickeyi'' (Nelson and Goldman, 1931)}}<br /> {{small|''mexicana'' (Baird, 1858)}}<br /> {{small|''shufeldti'' (Nelson and Goldman, 1931)}} |- |'''Upper Mississippi Valley raccoon'''<br />''P. l. hirtus'' |{{center|[[File:Raccoons of North & Middle America (1950) P. l. hirtus.png|50 px]]}} |Nelson and Goldman, 1930 |A large and dark-furred subspecies, whose pelage is usually suffused with ochraceous buff.<ref name="g37">{{Harvnb|Goldman|Jackson|1950|pp=37–38}}</ref> |Upper Mississippi and Missouri River drainage areas from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains east to Lake Michigan, and from southern Manitoba and probably southwestern Ontario and southeastern Alberta south to southern Oklahoma and Arkansas. | |- |'''Torch Key raccoon'''<br />''P. l. incautus'' |{{center|[[File:Raccoons of North & Middle America (1950) P. l. incautus.png|50 px]]}} |Nelson, 1930 |A small subspecies with very pale fur (the palest of the Florida raccoons).<ref name="g48">{{Harvnb|Goldman|Jackson|1950|pp=48–49}}</ref> |Big Pine Key Group, near the southwestern end of the chain of Florida Keys. | |- |'''Matecumbe Key raccoon'''<br />''P. l. inesperatus'' | |Nelson, 1930 |Similar to ''P. l. elucus'', but smaller and grayer and with a flatter skull.<ref name="g46">{{Harvnb|Goldman|Jackson|1950|pp=46–47}}</ref> |Key Largo Group, embracing fringing keys along the southeast coast of Florida, from Virginia Key south to Lower Matecumbe Key. | |- |'''[[Tres Marias raccoon]]'''<br />''P. l. insularis'' |{{center|[[File:Raccoons of North & Middle America (1950) P. l. insularis.png|50 px]]}} |Merriam, 1898 |A large, massive-skulled subspecies with short and coarse fur.<ref name="g71">{{Harvnb|Goldman|Jackson|1950|pp=71–74}}</ref> |Tres Marías Islands, off west coast of Nayarit, Mexico. |{{small|''vicinus'' (Nelson and Goldman, 1931)}} |- |'''Saint Simon Island raccoon'''<br />''P. l. litoreus'' |{{center|[[File:Raccoons of North & Middle America (1950) P. l. litoreus.png|50 px]]}} |Nelson and Goldman, 1930 |Similar to ''P. l. elucus'', being of medium size and having dark fur.<ref name="g40">{{Harvnb|Goldman|Jackson|1950|pp=40}}</ref> |Coastal strip and islands of Georgia. | |- |'''Ten Thousand Islands raccoon'''<br />''P. l. marinus'' | |Nelson, 1930 |A very small subspecies with heavy dentition.<ref name="g44">{{Harvnb|Goldman|Jackson|1950|pp=44–46}}</ref> |Keys of the Ten Thousand Islands Group, and the adjoining mainland of southwestern Florida from Cape Sable north through the Everglades to Lake Okeechobee. |{{small|''maritimus'' (Dozier, 1948)}} |- |'''[[Bahamian raccoon]]'''<br />''P. l. maynardi'' |{{center|[[File:Raccoons of North & Middle America (1950) P. l. maynardi.png|50 px]]}} |Bangs, 1898 |A small and slightly dark subspecies with a lightly built skull and dentition.<ref name="g75">{{Harvnb|Goldman|Jackson|1950|pp=75–76}}</ref> |Known only from New Providence Island, Bahamas. |{{small|''flavidus'' (de Beaux, 1910)}}<br /> {{small|''[[Guadeloupe raccoon|minor]]'' (Miller, 1911)}}<br /> {{small|''varius'' (Nelson and Goldman, 1930)}} |- |'''Mississippi Delta raccoon'''<br />''P. l. megalodous'' | |Lowery, 1943 |A medium-sized subspecies, with a massive skull and pale yellow fur suffused above with black.<ref name="g84">{{Harvnb|Goldman|Jackson|1950|pp=84–85}}</ref> |Coast region of southern Louisiana from St. Bernard Parish west to Cameron Parish. | |- |'''[[Guadeloupe raccoon]]''' ''P. l. minor'' | |Miller, 1911 |A small subspecies with a delicate skull, a dark gray coat, and a slight ochre tint on the neck and shoulders.<ref>{{harvnb|Zeveloff|2002|pp=[https://archive.org/details/raccoonsnaturalh0000zeve/page/42 42, 44]}} (This source was used for all information in this article unless noted otherwise.)</ref> |[[Guadeloupe]] in the [[Lesser Antilles]] (both islands: [[Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe|Grande-Terre]] and [[Basse-Terre Island|Basse-Terre]]). | |- |'''Pacific Northwest raccoon'''<br />''P. l. pacificus'' | |Merriam, 1899 |A dark-furred subspecies with a relatively broad, flat skull.<ref name="g58">{{Harvnb|Goldman|Jackson|1950|pp=58–59}}</ref> |Southwestern British Columbia, except Vancouver Island, northern, central, and western Washington, western Oregon, and extreme northwestern California. |{{small|''proteus'' (Brass, 1911)}} |- |'''Colorado Desert raccoon'''<br />''P. l. pallidus'' | |Merriam, 1900 |One of the palest subspecies, around the same size as ''P. l. mexicanus''.<ref name="g54">{{Harvnb|Goldman|Jackson|1950|pp=54–56}}</ref> |Colorado and Gila River Valleys and adjoining territory from the delta north to northeastern Utah, and east to western Colorado and northwestern New Mexico. |{{small|''ochraceus'' (Mearns, 1914)}} |- |'''California raccoon'''<br />''P. l. psora'' |{{center|[[File:Raccoons of North & Middle America (1950) P. l. psora.png|50 px]]}} |Gray, 1842 |A large and moderately dark subspecies with a broad, rather flat skull.<ref name="g56">{{Harvnb|Goldman|Jackson|1950|pp=56–58}}</ref> |California, except the extreme northwest coastal strip, the northeastern corner, and southeastern desert region, ranging south through northwestern Baja California to San Quentin; extreme west central Nevada. |{{small|''californicus'' (Means, 1914)}} |- |'''Isthmian raccoon'''<br />''P. l. pumilus'' |{{center|[[File:Raccoons of North & Middle America (1950) P. l. pumilus.png|50 px]]}} |Miller, 1911 |Similar to ''P. l. crassidens'' in color, but has a shorter, broader, and flatter skull.<ref name="g70">{{Harvnb|Goldman|Jackson|1950|pp=70–71}}</ref> |Panama and the Canal Zone from Porto Bello west to Boqueron, Chiriqui, though the limits of its range are unknown. | |- |† '''Short-faced raccoon'''<br />''P. l. simus'' |[[File:J. W. Gidley (1906) P. l. simus.png|50 px]] |Gidley, 1906 |A [[Pleistocene]] subspecies similar to ''P. l. excelsus'', but with a deeper lower jaw and a more robust dentition.<ref name="gidley1906">{{cite journal |last=Gidley |first=J.W. |date=1906 |title=A fossil raccoon from a California Pleistocene cave deposit |journal= Proceedings of the United States National Museum|volume=19 |issue=1435 |pages=553–554 |doi=10.5479/si.00963801.29-1435.553 |hdl=2027/hvd.32044107348401 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/51922 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref name="g95">{{Harvnb|Goldman|Jackson|1950|pp=95}}</ref> |California. | |- |'''Vancouver Island raccoon'''<br />''P. l. vancouverensis'' | |Nelson and Goldman, 1930 |A dark-furred subspecies, similar to ''P. l. pacificus'' but smaller.<ref name="g61">{{Harvnb|Goldman|Jackson|1950|pp=61–62}}</ref> |Known only from Vancouver Island. | |- |}

== Description == === Physical characteristics === {{multiple image|perrow=1/1/2/1|caption_align=center|total_width=220 |image1=Mm Hand.jpg|caption1=Lower side of front paw with visible [[vibrissae]] on the tips of the digits |image2=Description iconographique comparée du squelette et du système dentaire des mammifères récents et fossiles (Procyon lotor).jpg|caption2=Skeleton |image3=Raccoon skull Pengo.jpg|caption3=Skull with dentition: 2/2 molars, 4/4 premolars, 1/1 canines, 3/3 incisors |image4=Raccoonpenisbone.jpg|caption4=[[Baculum]] or penis bone |image5=Bulletin (1973) (19805173074).jpg|caption5=Female [[genitourinary system]] |image6=Image from page 91 of "Bulletin" (1918) (20241179329).jpg|caption6=Male genitourinary system }}

Head to hindquarters, raccoons measure between {{cvt|40|and|70|cm}}, not including the bushy tail which can measure between {{cvt|20|and|40|cm}}, but is usually not much longer than {{cvt|25|cm}}.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=77}}{{sfn|Lagoni-Hansen|1981|p=15}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=58}} The shoulder height is between {{cvt|23|and|30|cm}}.{{sfn|Lagoni-Hansen|1981|p=16}} The body weight of an adult raccoon varies considerably with [[habitat]], making the raccoon one of the most variably sized mammals. It can range from {{cvt|2|to|26|kg}}, but is usually between {{cvt|5|and|12|kg}}. The smallest specimens live in southern Florida, while those near the northern limits of the raccoon's range tend to be the largest {{crossreference|(see [[Bergmann's rule]])}}.{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|pp=58–59}} Males are usually 15 to 20% heavier than females.{{sfn|Lagoni-Hansen|1981|p=18}} At the beginning of winter, a raccoon can weigh twice as much as in spring because of fat storage.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=47–48}}{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|p=44}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=108}} The largest recorded wild raccoon weighed {{cvt|28.4|kg}} and measured {{cvt|140|cm}} in total length, by far the largest size recorded for a procyonid.{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|p=8}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=59}}

The most characteristic physical feature of the raccoon is the area of black [[fur]] around the eyes, which contrasts sharply with the surrounding white face coloring. This is reminiscent of a "[[Domino mask|bandit's mask]]" and has thus enhanced the animal's reputation for mischief.{{sfn|Bartussek|2004|p=6}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=61}} The slightly rounded ears are also bordered by white fur. Raccoons are assumed to recognize the facial expression and posture of other members of their species more quickly because of the conspicuous facial coloration and the alternating light and dark rings on the tail.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=65–66}}{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|pp=5–6}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=63}} The dark mask may also reduce [[glare (vision)|glare]] and thus enhance [[night vision]].{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|pp=5–6}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=63}} On other parts of the body, the long and stiff [[guard hair]]s, which shed moisture, are usually colored in shades of gray and, to a lesser extent, brown.{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=60}} Raccoons with a very dark coat are more common in the German population because individuals with such coloring were among those initially released to the wild.<ref name="stellungnahme">{{cite web|url=http://www.projekt-waschbaer.de/aktuelles/stellungnahme-oekologie/|title=Ökologische und ökonomische Bedeutung des Waschbären in Mitteleuropa – Eine Stellungnahme|access-date=December 7, 2008|last1=Michler|first1=Frank-Uwe|last2=Köhnemann|first2=Berit A.|date=May 2008|work=Projekt Waschbär|language=de|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120512144354/http://www.projekt-waschbaer.de/aktuelles/stellungnahme-oekologie/|archive-date=May 12, 2012}}</ref> The dense [[underfur]], which accounts for almost 90% of the coat, insulates against cold weather and is composed of {{cvt|2|to|3|cm}} long hairs.{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=60}}

The raccoon, whose method of [[Terrestrial locomotion|locomotion]] is usually considered to be [[plantigrade]], can stand on its hind legs to examine objects with its front paws.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=57}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|pp=71–72}} As raccoons have short legs compared to their compact torso, they are usually not able to run quickly or jump great distances.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=93}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=72}} Their top speed over short distances is {{cvt|16|to|24|km/h}}.{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|p=28}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Saunders|first=Andrew D.|title=Adirondack Mammals|publisher=Syracuse University Press|location=Syracuse, New York|date=March 1989|isbn=978-0-8156-8115-1|page=256| chapter=Raccoon|chapter-url=https://www.esf.edu/aec/adks/mammals/raccoon.php}}</ref> Raccoons can swim with an average speed of about {{cvt|5|km/h}} and can stay in the water for several hours.{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|p=33}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=72}} For climbing down a tree headfirst—an unusual ability for a mammal of its size—a raccoon rotates its hind feet so they are pointing backwards.{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|p=30}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=72}} Raccoons have a dual cooling system to [[Thermoregulation|regulate their temperature]]; that is, they can both sweat and pant for heat dissipation.{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|p=29}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=73}}

Raccoon skulls have a short and wide facial region and a voluminous [[braincase]]. The [[Facial skeleton|facial]] length of the skull is less than the [[Neurocranium|cranial]], and their [[nasal bone]]s are short and quite broad. The [[auditory bulla]]e is inflated in form, and the [[sagittal crest]] is weakly developed.{{sfn|Heptner|Sludskii|2002|pp=1375–1376}} The [[dentition]]—40 teeth with the [[dental formula]]:{{DentalFormula|upper=3.1.4.2|lower=3.1.4.2}}—is adapted to their [[omnivore|omnivorous]] diet: the [[carnassial]]s are not as sharp and pointed as those of a full-time [[carnivore]], but the [[molar (tooth)|molars]] are not as wide as those of a [[herbivory|herbivore]].{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=64}} The [[baculum|penis bone]] of males is about {{cvt|10|cm}} long and strongly bent at the front end,{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=27}}{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|p=84}} and its shape can be used to distinguish juvenile males from mature males.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sanderson |first1=Glen C. |first2=Andrew Vladimir |last2=Nalbandov |url=https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/44058/Bulletin31(2).pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y |format=PDF |title=The reproductive cycle of the raccoon in Illinois |journal=Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin |volume=31 |issue=2 |date=1973 |pages=29–85 |doi=10.21900/j.inhs.v31.146 |access-date=August 11, 2016 |archive-date=October 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161007222753/https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/44058/Bulletin31(2).pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Okuyama |first1=Minami W. |display-authors=etal |url=http://eprints.lib.hokudai.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2115/58177/1/Minami_Okuyama.pdf |title=Timing of puberty and its relationship with body growth and season in male raccoons (Procyon lotor) in Hokkaido |journal=Journal of Reproduction and Development |volume=59 |issue=4 |date=2013 |pages=361–367 |doi=10.1262/jrd.2012-198 |pmid=23603783 |pmc=3944363 |access-date=August 11, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916110705/http://eprints.lib.hokudai.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2115/58177/1/Minami_Okuyama.pdf |archive-date=September 16, 2016 }}</ref><ref name="SchwartzSchwartz2001">{{cite book|first1=Charles Walsh |last1=Schwartz|first2=Elizabeth Reeder |last2=Schwartz|title=The Wild Mammals of Missouri|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEWl0ZM6DfUC&q=(genital%20OR%20penis%20OR%20baculum)|year=2001|publisher=University of Missouri Press|isbn=978-0-8262-1359-4|via=Google Books}}</ref> Seven of the thirteen identified vocal calls are used in [[Animal communication|communication]] between the mother and her kits, one of these being the birdlike twittering of newborns.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=66}}{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|p=92}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=73}}

=== Senses === The most important sense for the raccoon is its [[Somatosensory system|sense of touch]].{{sfn|Bartussek|2004|p=13}}{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=55}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=70}} The "hyper sensitive"{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=55}} front paws are protected by a thin [[Stratum corneum|horny layer]] that becomes pliable when wet.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=56–59}}{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|p=15}} The five digits of the paws have no webbing between them, which is unusual for a [[carnivoran]].{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=69}} Almost two-thirds of the area responsible for [[perception|sensory perception]] in the raccoon's [[cerebral cortex]] is specialized for the interpretation of tactile impulses, more than in any other studied animal.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=56}} They are able to identify objects before touching them with [[vibrissa]]e located above their sharp, nonretractable [[claw]]s.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=57}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=70}} The raccoon's paws lack an opposable [[thumb]]; thus, it does not have the agility of the hands of [[primate]]s.{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=70}}{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|p=15}} There is no observed negative effect on tactile perception when a raccoon stands in water below 10&nbsp;°C (50&nbsp;°F) for hours.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=60–62}}

Raccoons are thought to be [[color blindness|color blind]] or at least poorly able to distinguish color, though their eyes are well-adapted for sensing green light.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=63}}{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|p=18}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=66}} Although their [[accommodation (eye)|accommodation]] of 11 [[dioptre]] is comparable to that of humans and they see well in twilight because of the [[tapetum lucidum]] behind the [[retina]], [[visual perception]] is of subordinate importance to raccoons because of their poor long-distance vision.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=63–65}}{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|pp=18–21}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|pp=66–67}} In addition to being useful for orientation in the dark, their [[olfaction|sense of smell]] is important for intraspecific communication. Glandular [[secretion]]s (usually from their [[anal glands]]), urine and feces are used for marking.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=67–70}}{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|p=17}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|pp=68–69}} With their broad [[hearing (sense)|auditory range]], they can perceive tones up to 50–85&nbsp;[[Hertz|kHz]] as well as quiet noises, like those produced by [[earthworm]]s underground.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=66, 72}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=68}}

=== Intelligence === Zoologist [[Clinton Hart Merriam]] described raccoons as "clever beasts", and that "in certain directions their cunning surpasses that of the fox". The animal's intelligence gave rise to the epithet "sly coon".<ref name="merriam1884">{{cite book |last=Merriam |first=C. H. |date=1884 |url=https://archive.org/stream/mammalsofadirond00merr#page/90/mode/2up |title=The mammals of the Adirondack region, northeastern New York: With an introductory chapter treating of the location and boundaries of the region, its geological history, topography, climate, general features, botany, and faunal position |location=New York |publisher=Author |pages=91–95 |via=Internet Archive }}</ref> Only a few studies have been undertaken to determine the mental abilities of raccoons, most of them based on the animal's sense of touch. In a study by the [[ethology|ethologist]] H. B. Davis in 1908, raccoons were able to open 11 of 13 complex locks in fewer than 10 tries and had no problems repeating the action when the locks were rearranged or turned upside down. Davis concluded that they understood the [[abstraction|abstract]] principles of the locking mechanisms and their learning speed was equivalent to that of [[rhesus macaque]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Davis |first=H. B. |date=October 1907 |title=The Raccoon: A Study in Animal Intelligence |journal=The American Journal of Psychology |volume=18 |issue=4 |pages=447–489 |doi=10.2307/1412576 |jstor=1412576 |hdl=2027/hvd.32044018691584 |hdl-access=free}}</ref>

Studies in 1963, 1973, 1975, and 1992 concentrated on raccoon [[memory]] showed that they can remember the solutions to tasks for at least three years.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=71–72}} In a study by B. Pohl in 1992, raccoons were able to instantly differentiate between identical and different symbols three years after the short initial learning phase.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=71–72}} [[Stanislas Dehaene]] reports in his book ''The Number Sense'' that raccoons can distinguish boxes containing two or four grapes from those containing three.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dehaene |first=Stanislas |title=The number sense |year=1997 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-19-511004-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/numbersensehowmi0000deha/page/12 12] |url=https://archive.org/details/numbersensehowmi0000deha/page/12}}</ref> In research by [[Suzana Herculano-Houzel]] and other [[neuroscientist]]s, raccoons are comparable to [[primate]]s in density of [[neuron]]s in the [[cerebral cortex]], which they have proposed to be a [[neuroanatomy|neuroanatomical]] indicator of intelligence.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Salisbury |first1=David |title=Sorry, Grumpy Cat – Study finds dogs are brainier than cats |url=https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2017/11/29/grumpy-cat-study-dogs/ |access-date=December 1, 2017 |work=Vanderbilt University |date=November 29, 2017 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Alvarenga |first1=Débora Jardim Messeder |last2=Lambert |first2=Kelly |last3=Noctor |first3=Stephen C. |last4=Pestana |first4=Fernanda |last5=Bertelsen |first5=Mads F. |last6=Manger |first6=Paul |last7=Herculano-Houzel |first7=Suzana |title=Dogs have the most neurons, though not the largest brain: Trade-off between body mass and number of neurons in the cerebral cortex of large carnivoran species |journal=Frontiers in Neuroanatomy |date=2017 |volume=11 |article-number=118 |doi=10.3389/fnana.2017.00118 |pmid=29311850 |pmc=5733047 |language=en |issn=1662-5129|doi-access=free }}</ref>

== Behavior == === Social behavior === [[File:Three raccoons in a tree.jpg|thumb|Eastern raccoons (''P. l. lotor'') in a tree: The raccoon's social structure is grouped into what [[Ulf Hohmann]] calls a "three-class society".]] [[File:Raccoon climbing in tree - Cropped and color corrected.jpg|thumb|California raccoon (''P. l. psora'') climbing a tree in [[Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge]]]] {{Listen|filename=Baby Raccoon Chatter 1.flac|mini|title=Baby raccoon chatter}}

Studies in the 1990s by the ethologists Stanley D. Gehrt and [[Ulf Hohmann]] suggest that raccoons engage in sex-specific [[social behavior]]s and are not typically solitary, as was previously thought.<ref name="gehrt">{{cite thesis|last=Gehrt|first=Stanley D.|title=Raccoon social organization in South Texas|year= 1994 |type=Dissertation |publisher=University of Missouri-Columbia }}</ref>{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=133–155}} Related females often live in a so-called "[[fission-fusion society]]"; that is, they share a common area and occasionally meet at feeding or resting grounds.{{sfn|Bartussek|2004|pp=10–12}}{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=141–142}} Unrelated males often form loose male social groups to maintain their position against foreign males during the [[mating season]]—or against other potential invaders.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=152–154}} Such a group does not usually consist of more than four individuals.{{sfn|Bartussek|2004|p=12}}{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=140}} Since some males show aggressive behavior towards unrelated kits, mothers will isolate themselves from other raccoons until their kits are big enough to defend themselves.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=124–126, 155}}

Concerning these three different modes of life prevalent among raccoons, Hohmann called their [[social structure]] a "three-class society".{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=133}} Samuel I. Zeveloff, professor of [[zoology]] at [[Weber State University]] and author of the book ''Raccoons: A Natural History'', is more cautious in his interpretation and concludes at least the females are solitary most of the time and, according to Erik K. Fritzell's study in [[North Dakota]] in 1978, males in areas with low population densities are solitary as well.{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|pp=137–139}}

The shape and size of a raccoon's [[home range]] vary depending on age, sex, and habitat, with adults claiming areas more than twice as large as juveniles.{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|p=61}} While the size of home ranges in the habitat of North Dakota's [[prairie]]s lie between {{convert|7|and|50|km2|sqmi|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} for males and between {{convert|2|and|16|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}} for females, the average size in a [[marsh]] at [[Lake Erie]] was {{convert|0.5|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}.{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|pp=60–61}} Irrespective of whether the home ranges of adjacent groups overlap, they are most likely not actively defended outside the mating season if food supplies are sufficient.{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|pp=137–138}} Odor marks on prominent spots are assumed to establish home ranges and identify individuals.{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|pp=68–69}} Urine and feces left at shared [[raccoon latrine]]s may provide additional information about feeding grounds, since raccoons were observed to meet there later for collective eating, sleeping, and playing.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=142–147}}

Concerning the general behavior patterns of raccoons, Gehrt points out that "typically you'll find 10 to 15 percent that will do the opposite" of what is expected.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Riddell |first=Jill |date=Summer 2002 |title=The City Raccoon and the Country Raccoon |url=http://chicagowildernessmag.org/issues/summer2002/raccoons.html |magazine=Chicago Wilderness Magazine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081224065626/http://chicagowildernessmag.org/issues/summer2002/raccoons.html |archive-date=December 24, 2008 |access-date=July 28, 2008 }}</ref>

=== Diet === Though usually nocturnal, the raccoon is sometimes active in daylight to take advantage of available food sources.{{sfn|Bartussek|2004|p=10}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=99}} Its diet consists of about 40% [[invertebrate]]s, 33% [[plant]] material and 27% [[vertebrate]]s.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=82}} Since its diet consists of such a variety of different foods, Zeveloff argues the raccoon "may well be one of the world's most omnivorous animals".{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=102}} While its diet in spring and early summer consists mostly of insects, worms, and other animals already available early in the year, it prefers fruits and nuts, such as [[acorn]]s and [[walnut]]s, which emerge in late summer and autumn, and represent a rich calorie source for building up fat needed for winter.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=85–88}}{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|pp=44–45}}

Contrary to popular belief, raccoons only occasionally eat active or large prey, such as [[bird]]s and [[mammal]]s. They prefer prey that is easier to catch, specifically [[crayfish]], [[insect]]s,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Procyon_lotor/|title=Procyon lotor - Guadeloupe raccoon (Also: northern raccoon)|publisher=Animal Diversity Web|author=Tanya Dewey and Rebecca Fox|access-date=January 2, 2021}}</ref> [[fish]], [[amphibian]]s and bird eggs.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=83}} Raccoons are avid predators of eggs and hatchlings in both birds and [[reptile]] nests, to such a degree that, for threatened prey species, raccoons may need to be removed from the area or nests may need to be relocated to mitigate the effect of their predation (i.e. in the case of some globally threatened [[turtle]]s).<ref>Schmidt, K. A. (2003). ''Nest predation and population declines in Illinois songbirds: a case for mesopredator effects''. Conservation Biology, 17(4), 1141–1150.</ref><ref>Rogers, C. M., & Caro, M. J. (1998). ''Song sparrows, top carnivores and nest predation: a test of the mesopredator release hypothesis''. Oecologia, 116(1–2), 227–233.</ref><ref>Thompson III, F. R., Dijak, W., & Burhans, D. E. (1999). ''Video identification of predators at songbird nests in old fields''. The Auk, 116(1), 259–264.</ref><ref>Munscher, E. C., Kuhns, E. H., Cox, C. A., & Butler, J. A. (2012). ''Decreased nest mortality for the Carolina diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin centrata) following removal of raccoons (Procyon lotor) from a nesting beach in northeastern Florida''. Herpetological Conservation and Biology, 7(2), 176–184.</ref><ref>Stancyk, S. E., Talbert, O. R., & Dean, J. M. (1980). ''Nesting activity of the loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta in South Carolina, II. Protection of nests from raccoon predation by transplantation''. Biological Conservation, 18(4), 289–298.</ref> When food is plentiful, raccoons can develop strong individual preferences for specific foods.{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|p=44}} In the northern parts of their range, raccoons go into a [[winter rest]], reducing their activity drastically as long as a permanent snow cover makes searching for food difficult.{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|pp=108–113}}

=== Dousing === [[File:Procyon lotor 7 - am Wasser.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Captive raccoons often douse their food before eating.]]

One aspect of raccoon behavior is so well known that it gives the animal part of its scientific name, ''Procyon lotor''; {{Lang|la|lotor}} is Latin for 'washer'. In the wild, raccoons often dabble for underwater food near the shoreline. They then often pick up the food item with their front paws to examine it and rub the item, sometimes to remove unwanted parts. This gives the appearance of the raccoon "washing" the food. The tactile sensitivity of raccoons' paws is increased if this rubbing action is performed underwater, since the water softens the hard layer covering the paws.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=55}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=7}} However, the behavior observed in captive raccoons in which they carry their food to water to "wash" or douse it before eating has not been observed in the wild.{{sfn|Lagoni-Hansen|1981|p=41}}{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|pp=56–57}} [[Natural history|Naturalist]] [[Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon]], believed that raccoons do not have adequate [[salivary gland|saliva production]] to moisten food thereby necessitating dousing, but this hypothesis is now considered to be incorrect.{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=7}}{{sfn|Lagoni-Hansen|1981|p=41}}{{sfn|Holmgren|1990|p=70}}{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|p=57}} Captive raccoons douse their food more frequently when a watering hole with a layout similar to a stream is not farther away than {{convert|3|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}.{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|p=57}} The widely accepted theory is that dousing in captive raccoons is a [[fixed action pattern]] from the dabbling behavior performed when foraging at shores for aquatic foods.{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=7}}{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|p=57}}{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=44–45}}{{sfn|Lagoni-Hansen|1981|pp=41–42}} This is supported by the observation that aquatic foods are doused more frequently. Cleaning dirty food does not seem to be a reason for "washing".{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|p=57}}

In addition to its scientific name, the dousing behaviour gives rise to the raccoon's name in several languages, such as French (''raton laveur'' "washing rat-pup") and German (''Waschbär'' "wash-bear").

=== Reproduction === Raccoons usually [[mating|mate]] in a period triggered by increasing daylight between late January and mid-March.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=150}}{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|p=81}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=122}} However, there are large regional differences which are not completely explicable by solar conditions. For example, while raccoons in southern states typically mate later than average, the mating season in [[Manitoba]] also peaks later than usual in March and extends until June.{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=122}} During the mating season, males restlessly roam their home ranges in search of females in an attempt to court them during the three- to four-day period when conception is possible. These encounters will often occur at central meeting places.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=148–150}}{{sfn|Lagoni-Hansen|1981|p=47}}{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|pp=81–82}} [[Copulation (zoology)|Copulation]], including foreplay, can last over an hour and is repeated over several nights.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=150–151}} The weaker members of a male social group also are assumed to get the opportunity to mate, since the stronger ones cannot mate with all available females.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=153–154}} In a study in southern Texas during the mating seasons from 1990 to 1992, about one-third of all females mated with more than one male.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Gehrt|first1=Stanley|last2=Fritzell |first2=Erik K. |date=March 1999|title=Behavioural aspects of the raccoon mating system: determinants of consortship success|journal=Animal Behaviour|volume=57|issue=3|pages=593–601|issn=0003-3472|doi=10.1006/anbe.1998.1037|pmid=10196048|bibcode=1999AnBeh..57..593G |s2cid=281754|url=http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/102a/dfb19eef17757addf01c55066634a9ba0521.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190218203056/http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/102a/dfb19eef17757addf01c55066634a9ba0521.pdf|archive-date=February 18, 2019}}</ref> If a female does not become [[pregnancy (mammals)|pregnant]] or if she loses her kits early, she will sometimes become fertile again 80 to 140&nbsp;days later.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=125}}{{sfn|Lagoni-Hansen|1981|p=45}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=125}}

[[File:Common Raccoon (Procyon lotor) in Northwest Indiana.jpg|left|thumb|An eastern raccoon (''P. l. lotor'') kit]]

After usually 63 to 65&nbsp;days of [[gestation]] (although anywhere from 54 to 70&nbsp;days is possible), a [[litter (animal)|litter]] of typically two to five young is born.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=131}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|pp=121, 126}} The average litter size varies widely with habitat, ranging from 2.5 in [[Alabama]] to 4.8 in [[North Dakota]].{{sfn|Lagoni-Hansen|1981|p=50}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=126}} Larger litters are more common in areas with a high mortality rate, due, for example, to [[hunting]] or severe winters.{{sfn|Bartussek|2004|p=32}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=126}} While male yearlings usually reach their sexual maturity only after the main mating season, female yearlings can compensate for high mortality rates and may be responsible for about 50% of all young born in a year.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=163}}{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|p=82}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|pp=123–127}} Males have no part in raising young.{{sfn|Bartussek|2004|p=12}}{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=111}}{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|p=83}} The kits (also called "cubs") are blind and deaf at birth, but their mask is already visible against their light fur.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=114, 117}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=127}} The birth weight of the roughly {{convert|10|cm|in|0|abbr=on}}-long kits is between {{convert|60|and|75|g|oz|1|abbr=on}}.{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=127}} Their ear canals open after around 18 to 23&nbsp;days, a few days before their eyes open for the first time.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=117}} Once the kits weigh about {{convert|1|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}}, they begin to explore outside the den, consuming solid food for the first time after six to nine&nbsp;weeks.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=119}}{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|pp=94–95}} After this point, their mother [[Lactation|suckles]] them with decreasing frequency; they are usually weaned by 16&nbsp;weeks.{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=129}} In the fall, after their mother has shown them dens and feeding grounds, the juvenile group splits up.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=126–127}}{{Sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=130}} While many females will stay close to the home range of their mother, males can sometimes move more than {{convert|20|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} away.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=130}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|pp=132–133}} This is considered an [[instinct]]ive behavior, preventing [[inbreeding]].{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=128}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=133}} However, mother and offspring may share a den during the first winter in cold areas.{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=130}}

=== Life expectancy === [[File:Racoon crossing road.JPG|right|thumb|Young Florida raccoon (''P. l. elucus'') crossing a road]]

Captive raccoons have been known to live for more than 20&nbsp;years.{{sfn|Bartussek|2004|p=6}} However, the species' life expectancy in the wild is only 1.8 to 3.1&nbsp;years, depending on the local conditions such as traffic volume, hunting, and weather severity.{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|pp=118–119}} It is not unusual for only half of the young born in one year to survive a full year.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=163}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=119}} After this point, the annual mortality rate drops to between 10% and 30%.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=163}} Young raccoons are vulnerable to losing their mother and to starvation, particularly in long and cold winters.{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|p=73}} The most frequent natural cause of death in the North American raccoon population is [[Canine distemper|distemper]], which can reach [[epidemic]] proportions and kill most of a local raccoon population.<ref name="ergebnisse">{{cite web|url=http://www.projekt-waschbaer.de/erste-ergebnisse/|title=Erste Ergebnisse|access-date=December 7, 2008|last=Michler|first=Frank-Uwe|author2=Köhnemann, Berit A.|date=June 2008|work=Projekt Waschbär|language=de|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214202619/http://www.projekt-waschbaer.de/erste-ergebnisse|archive-date=February 14, 2009}}</ref> In areas with heavy vehicular traffic and extensive hunting, these factors can account for up to 90% of all deaths of adult raccoons.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=162}} The most important natural [[predation|predators]] of the raccoon are [[bobcat]]s, [[coyote]]s, and [[great horned owl]]s, the latter mainly preying on young raccoons but capable of killing adults in some cases.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fritts |first1=S.H. |last2=Sealander |first2=J.A. |date=1978 |title=Diets of bobcats in Arkansas with special reference to age and sex differences |journal=Journal of Wildlife Management |pages=533–539 |volume=42|issue=3 |doi=10.2307/3800815|jstor=3800815 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Maehr |first1=D.S. |last2=Brady |first2=J.R. |date=1986 |title=Food habits of bobcats in Florida |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=67 |issue=1 |pages=133–138 |doi=10.2307/1381009|jstor=1381009 |bibcode=1986JMamm..67..133M }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Cepek |first=J.D. |date=2004 |title=Diet Composition of Coyotes in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio |journal=Ohio Journal of Science |volume=104 |issue=3 |page=60 | url = https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/icwdm_usdanwrc/85/}}</ref><ref>{{cite conference |last1=Wooding |first1=J.B. |last2=Hill |first2=E.P. |last3=Sumner |first3=P.W. |date=1984 |title=Coyote food habits in Mississippi and Alabama |book-title=Proceedings of the Annual Conference of Southeastern Fish and Wildlife Agencies |volume=38 |pages=182–188 | url = https://seafwa.org/journal/1984/coyote-food-habits-mississippi-and-alabama}}</ref><ref name= Bosakowski>{{cite journal |last1=Bosakowski |first1=T. |first2=R. |last2=Speiser |first3=D.G. |last3=Smith |date=1989 |title=Nesting ecology of forest-dwelling Great Horned Owls in the Eastern Deciduous Forest Biome |journal=Canadian Field-Naturalist |volume=103 |pages=65–69 |doi=10.5962/p.356054 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://mariewin.server304.com/johnblog/2005/07/blakeman-answers-questions-about-nest.html |title=Blakeman answers questions about nest maintenance |website=Blakeman on Hawks |date=July 6, 2005 |access-date=August 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304040936/http://mariewin.server304.com/johnblog/2005/07/blakeman-answers-questions-about-nest.html |archive-date=March 4, 2016 }}</ref> In [[Florida]], they have been reported to fall victim to larger carnivores like [[American black bear]] and [[cougar]]s and these species may also be a threat on occasion in other areas.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Roof |first=J.C. |date=1997 |title=Black bear food habits in the lower Wekiva River basin of central Florida |publisher=Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission | journal = Florida Field Nat. | volume = 25 | issue = 3 | pages = 92–97 | url = https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/FFN_25-3p92-97Roof%5B1%5D.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Maehr |first1=D.S. |last2=Belden |first2=R.C. |last3=Land |first3=E.D. |last4=Wilkins |first4=L. |date=1990 |title=Food habits of panthers in southwest Florida |journal=Journal of Wildlife Management |pages=420–423 |volume=54|issue=3 |doi=10.2307/3809651|jstor=3809651 |bibcode=1990JWMan..54..420M }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kertson |first1=B.N. |last2=Spencer |first2=R.D. |last3=Grue |first3=C.E. |date=2011 |title=Cougar prey use in a wildland-urban environment in western Washington |journal=Northwestern Naturalist |volume=92 |issue=3 |pages=175–185 |doi=10.1898/11-06.1|s2cid=84749166 }}</ref> Where still present, [[Wolf|gray wolves]] may still occasionally take raccoons as a supplemental prey item.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Carrera | first1 = R. | last2 = Ballard | first2 = W. | last3 = Gipson | first3 = P. | last4 = Kelly | first4 = B.T. | last5 = Krausman | first5 = P.R. | last6 = Wallace | first6 = M.C. | last7 = Villalobos | first7 = C. | last8 = Wester | first8 = D.B. | date = 2008 | title = Comparison of Mexican wolf and coyote diets in Arizona and New Mexico | journal = The Journal of Wildlife Management | volume = 72 | issue = 2 | pages = 376–381 | doi = 10.2193/2007-012 | jstor = 25097549| bibcode = 2008JWMan..72..376C | s2cid = 84104944 }}</ref><ref>Chavez, A. S., & Gese, E. M. (2005). ''Food habits of wolves about livestock depredations in northwestern Minnesota''. The American midland naturalist, 154(1), 253–264.</ref> Also in the southeast, they are among the favored prey for adult [[American alligator]]s.<ref>{{cite conference |last=Taylor |first=D. |date=1986 |title=Fall foods of adult alligators from Cypress Lake habitat, Louisiana |book-title=Proceedings of the Annual Conference of Southeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies |volume=40 |pages=338–341 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Shoop |first1=C.R. |last2=Ruckdeschel |first2=C.A. |date=1990 |title=Alligators as predators on terrestrial mammals |journal=American Midland Naturalist |pages=407–412 |volume=124|issue=2 |doi=10.2307/2426191|jstor=2426191 }}</ref> On occasion, both [[Bald eagle|bald]] and [[golden eagle]]s will prey on raccoons.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/506/articles/foodhabits |title=Bald Eagle |website=Birds of North America Online |publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology |access-date=June 27, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mollhagen |first1=T.R. |last2=Wiey |first2=R.W. |last3=Packard |first3=R.L. |date=1972 |title=Prey remains in Golden Eagle nests: Texas and New Mexico |journal=Journal of Wildlife Management |volume=36 |issue=3 |pages=784–792 |doi=10.2307/3799431|jstor=3799431 |bibcode=1972JWMan..36..784M |s2cid=55411650 |url=http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/bc20/ec432ff1315afed30a9769301c82f8d6fa3a.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190302203827/http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/bc20/ec432ff1315afed30a9769301c82f8d6fa3a.pdf |archive-date=March 2, 2019 }}</ref> In the tropics, raccoons are known to fall prey to smaller eagles such as [[ornate hawk-eagle]]s and [[black hawk-eagle]]s, although it is not clear whether adults or merely juvenile raccoons are taken by these.<ref>Rangel-Salazar, J.L. & Enriquez-Rocha, P.L. (1993). ''Nest Record and Dietary Items for the Black Hawk-Eagle (Spizaetus tyrannus) from the Yucatan Peninsula''. Journal of Raptor Research, 27 (2):121–122.</ref><ref>Acosta-Chaves, V., Granados, F., & Araya, D. (2012). ''Predation of Long-tailed Silky Flycatcher (Ptilogonys caudatus) by Ornate Hawk-Eagle (Spizaetus ornatus) in a cloud forest of Costa Rica''. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, 20(4), 451–452.</ref> In rare cases of overlap, they may fall victim from carnivores ranging from species averaging smaller than themselves such as [[Fisher (animal)|fishers]] to those as large and formidable as [[jaguar]]s in [[Mexico]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Giuliano |first1=W.M. |last2=Litvaitis |first2=J.A. |last3=Stevens |first3=C.L. |date=1989 |title=Prey selection about sexual dimorphism of fishers (Martes pennanti) in New Hampshire |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=70 |issue=3 |pages=639–641 |doi=10.2307/1381440|jstor=1381440 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rueda |first1=P. |last2=Mendoza |first2=G.D. |last3=Martínez |first3=D. |last4=Rosas-Rosas |first4=O.C. |date=2013 |title=Determination of the jaguar (Panthera onca) and puma (Puma concolor) diet in a tropical forest in San Luis Potosi, Mexico |journal=Journal of Applied Animal Research |volume=41 |issue=4 |pages=484–489 |doi=10.1080/09712119.2013.787362|s2cid=84913213 |doi-access=free }}</ref> In their introduced range in the former Soviet Union, their main predators are [[wolf|wolves]], [[Eurasian lynx|lynxes]] and [[Eurasian eagle-owl]]s.{{sfn|Heptner|Sludskii|2002|p=1390}} However, predation is not a significant cause of death, especially because larger predators have been [[Holocene extinction event|exterminated]] in many areas inhabited by raccoons.{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|pp=111–112}}

== Range == [[File:Raccoon in bayou.jpg|thumb|[[Mississippi Delta]] raccoon (''P. l. megaloudus'') searching for food on a lake shore]]

=== Habitat === Although they have thrived in sparsely wooded areas in the last decades, raccoons depend on vertical structures to climb when they feel threatened.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=93–94}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=93}} Therefore, they avoid open terrain and areas with high concentrations of [[beech]] trees, as beech [[Bark (botany)|bark]] is too smooth to climb.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=94}} [[Tree hollow]]s in old [[oak]]s or other trees and rock crevices are preferred by raccoons as sleeping, winter, and litter dens. If such dens are unavailable or accessing them is inconvenient, raccoons use [[burrow]]s dug by other mammals, dense [[undergrowth]], or tree crotches.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=97–101}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|pp=95–96}} In a study in the [[Solling]] range of hills in Germany, more than 60% of all sleeping places were used only once, but those used at least ten times accounted for about 70% of all uses.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=98}} Since amphibians, [[crustacean]]s, and other animals around the shore of lakes and rivers are an important part of the raccoon's diet, lowland [[deciduous]] or [[Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests|mixed forests]] abundant with water and marshes sustain the highest population densities.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=160}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=98}} While population densities range from 0.5 to 3.2 animals per square kilometer (1.3 to 8.3 animals per square mile) in prairies and do not usually exceed 6 animals per square kilometer (15.5 animals per square mile) in upland hardwood forests, more than 20 raccoons per square kilometer (51.8 animals per square mile) can live in lowland forests and marshes.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=160}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=97}}

=== Distribution in North America === [[File:Albino raccoon.png|thumb|An [[albino]] Florida raccoon (''P. l. elucus'') in [[Virginia Key]], Florida]]

Raccoons are common throughout North America from Canada to [[Panama]], where the subspecies ''Procyon lotor pumilus'' coexists with the [[crab-eating raccoon]] (''Procyon cancrivorus'').{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=12, 46}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|pp=75, 88}} The population on [[Hispaniola]] was exterminated by Spanish colonists who hunted them for their meat; the historian [[Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés|Oviedo]] said in 1513 that they were extirpated.{{sfn|Holmgren|1990|p=58}} Raccoons were also exterminated in [[Cuba]] and [[Jamaica]]; the last sighting in Jamaica was reported in 1687.{{sfn|Holmgren|1990|pp=58–59}} The [[Barbados raccoon]] became extinct relatively recently, with the last sighting in 1964. When they were still considered separate species, the Bahamas raccoon, Guadeloupe raccoon, and Tres Marias raccoon were classified as [[Endangered species|endangered]] by the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature|IUCN]] in 1996.{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|pp=42–45}}

[[File:Raccoon in High Park 04.jpg|thumb| A raccoon sleeping on a tree in [[High Park]], [[Toronto]]]]

In [[Colonial America]], raccoons were uncommon outside the [[Eastern United States]], the [[Gulf Coast of the United States|Gulf Coast]], and the [[Great Lakes region]].{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=77}} As raccoons were not mentioned in earlier reports of [[American pioneer|pioneers]] exploring the central and north-central parts of the United States,{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=78}} their initial spread may have begun a few decades before the 20th century. Since the 1950s, raccoons have expanded their range from [[Vancouver Island]]—formerly the northernmost limit of their range—far into the northern portions of the four south-central Canadian provinces.{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=75}} New habitats which have recently been occupied by raccoons (aside from urban areas) include mountain ranges, such as the [[Western Rocky Mountains]], prairies, and [[Salt marsh|coastal marshes]].{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=76}} After a population explosion starting in the 1940s, the estimated number of raccoons in North America in the late 1980s was 15 to 20&nbsp;times higher than in the 1930s, when raccoons were comparatively rare.{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|pp=75–76}} [[Urbanization]], the expansion of [[agriculture]], deliberate introductions, and the extermination of natural predators of the raccoon have probably caused this increase in abundance and distribution.{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|pp=76–78}}

=== Distribution outside North America === {{main|Raccoons as an invasive species}} [[File:Waschbaer-verbreitung.png|right|thumb|Distribution in Germany: Raccoons killed or found dead by hunters in the hunting years 2000–2001, 2001–2002 and 2002–2003 in the administrative districts of Germany]]

As a result of escapes and deliberate [[introduced species|introductions]] in the mid-20th century, the raccoon is now distributed in several European and Asian countries. Sightings have occurred in all the countries bordering Germany, which hosts the largest population outside of North America.{{sfn|Lagoni-Hansen|1981|pp=89–90}} Another stable population exists in northern France, where several pet raccoons were released by members of the [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]] near the [[Laon-Couvron Air Base]] in 1966.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=13}} Furthermore, raccoons have been known to be in the area around [[Madrid]] since the early 1970s. In 2013, the city authorized "the capture and death of any specimen".<ref>{{cite news |last=Burger |first=Stephen |date=July 22, 2013 |title=Madrid declares war on plague of raccoon and parrot invaders |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/22/madrid-raccoon-parrot-plague |access-date=May 4, 2015}}</ref> It is also present in [[Italy]], with one self-sustaining population in [[Lombardy]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mori |first1=Emiliano |last2=Mazza |first2=Giuseppe |last3=Menchetti |first3=Mattia |last4=Panzeri |first4=Mattia |last5=Gager |first5=Yann |last6=Bertolino |first6=Sandro |last7=Di Febbraro |first7=Mirko |display-authors=3 |year=2015 |title=The masked invader strikes again: The conquest of Italy by the northern raccoon |journal=Hystrix |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=47–51 |doi=10.4404/hystrix-26.1-11035}}</ref>

About 1,240&nbsp;animals were released in nine regions of the former [[Soviet Union]] between 1936 and 1958 to establish a population to be hunted for their fur. Two of these introductions were successful – one in the south of [[Belarus]] between 1954 and 1958, and another in [[Azerbaijan]] between 1941 and 1957. With a seasonal harvest of between 1,000~1,500;animals, in 1974 the estimated size of the population distributed in the [[Caucasus]] region was around 20,000&nbsp;animals, and the density was four animals per square kilometer (10&nbsp;animals per square mile).{{sfn|Lagoni-Hansen|1981|pp=90–92}}

==== Distribution in Japan ==== In Japan, up to 1,500&nbsp;raccoons were imported as pets each year after the success of the [[anime]] series ''[[Rascal the Raccoon]]'' (1977). In 2004, the descendants of discarded or escaped animals lived in 42 of 47&nbsp;[[Prefectures of Japan|prefectures]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Yoshida |first=Reiji |date=September 16, 2004 |title=Raccoons – new foreign menace? |newspaper=[[The Japan Times]] |edition=online |url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20040916f1.html |access-date=December 7, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Raccoons take big bite out of crops |date=February 19, 2008 |newspaper=[[The Japan Times]] |edition=online |url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080219a5.html |access-date=December 7, 2008}}</ref><ref name=Tohru>{{cite journal |last1=Ikeda |first1=Tohru |last2=Asano |first2=Makoto |last3=Matoba |first3=Yohei, Abe, Go |year=2004 |title=Present status of invasive alien raccoon and its impact in Japan |journal=Global Environmental Research |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=125–131 |issn=1343-8808 |url=http://www.airies.or.jp/publication/ger/pdf/08-02-03.pdf |access-date=December 7, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326112531/http://www.airies.or.jp/publication/ger/pdf/08-02-03.pdf |archive-date=March 26, 2009}}</ref> The range of raccoons in the wild in Japan grew from 17&nbsp;prefectures in 2000 to all 47&nbsp;prefectures in 2008.<ref name=Ribaraki>{{cite report <!-- |authors=山﨑晃司・佐伯緑・竹内正彦・及川ひろみ --> |author1=山﨑晃司 [Yamazaki, Koji] |author2=佐伯緑 [Saeki, Midori] |author3=竹内正彦 [Takeuchi, Masahiko] |author4=及川ひろみ [Oikawa, Hiromi] |year=2009 |script-title=ja:茨城県でのアライグマの生息動向と今後の管理課題について |lang=ja |trans-title=Habitat trends of raccoons in Ibaraki Prefecture and future management issues |series=県自然博物館研究報告 [Prefectural Nature Museum research report] |volume=12 |pages=41–49 |url=http://www.nat.pref.ibaraki.jp/publish/documents/study_report/kenkyu12_light.pdf |access-date=July 3, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110529201015/http://www.nat.pref.ibaraki.jp/publish/documents/study_report/kenkyu12_light.pdf |archive-date=May 29, 2011}}</ref> It is estimated that raccoons cause thirty million yen (~$275,000) of agricultural damage on [[Hokkaido]] alone.<ref>{{cite news |last=Goldman |first=Jason G. |date=May 30, 2017 |title=How a kids' cartoon created a real-life invasive army |magazine=[[Nautilus (science magazine)|Nautilus]] |url=https://nautil.us/how-a-kids-cartoon-created-a-real_life-invasive-army-236628 |access-date=May 31, 2017}}</ref>

==== Distribution in Germany ==== In Germany – where the raccoon is called the {{lang|de|Waschbär}} (literally, 'wash-bear' or 'washing bear') due to its habit of "dousing" food in water – two pairs of pet raccoons were released into the German countryside at the [[Edersee]] reservoir in the north of [[Hesse]] in April&nbsp;1934 by a forester upon request of their owner, a poultry farmer.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=9–10}} He released them two weeks before receiving permission from the [[Prussia]]n hunting office to "enrich the [[fauna]]".{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=10}} Several prior attempts to introduce raccoons in Germany had been unsuccessful.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=11}}{{sfn|Lagoni-Hansen|1981|p=84}} A second population was established in eastern Germany in 1945 when 25&nbsp;raccoons escaped from a [[fur farming|fur farm]] at Wolfshagen (today a district of [[Altlandsberg]]), east of Berlin, after an air strike. The two populations are parasitologically distinguishable: 70% of the raccoons of the Hessian population are infected with the [[Nematode|roundworm]] ''[[Baylisascaris procyonis]]'', but none of the [[Brandenburg]]ian population is known to have the parasite.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=182}} In the Hessian region, there were an estimated 285&nbsp;raccoons in 1956, which increased to over 20,000 in 1970; in 2008, there were between 200,000 and 400,000&nbsp;raccoons in the whole of Germany.<ref name=ergebnisse/>{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=11}} By 2012 it was estimated that Germany now had more than a million raccoons.<ref>{{cite news |last=Schulz |first=Matthias |date=August 3, 2012 |title = Raccoon invasion: Germany overrun by hordes of masked omnivores |newspaper=[[Der Spiegel]] |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/germany-overrun-by-raccoon-invasion-a-847847.html |access-date=May 4, 2015}}</ref>

The raccoon was once a protected species in Germany, but has been declared a [[game (food)|game animal]] in 14 of the 16&nbsp;[[States of Germany|German states]] since 1954.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=18, 21}} Hunters and [[environmentalism|environmentalists]] argue the raccoon spreads uncontrollably, threatens protected bird species, and supersedes indigenous competitors.<ref name=stellungnahme/> This view is opposed by the zoologist Frank-Uwe Michler, who finds no evidence that a high population density of raccoons leads to negative effects on the [[biodiversity]] of an area.<ref name=stellungnahme/> Hohmann holds that extensive hunting cannot be justified by the absence of natural predators, because predation is not a significant cause of death in the North American raccoon population.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=14–16}}

{{chart|align=right|width=400px|chart=Raccoon population in Germany by year.chart|data=Raccoon population in Germany by year.tab}}

The raccoon is extensively hunted in Germany as it is seen as an [[invasive species]] and [[Pest (organism)|pest]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Aldred |first=Jessica |date=August 2, 2016 |title=Raccoon, mongoose, and cabbage among invasive species banned from UK |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/02/raccoon-mongoose-and-cabbage-among-invasive-species-banned-from-uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Bartels, Meghan |date=June 7, 2016 |title=Germany is overrun with raccoons – and the rest of the continent is worried they'll be next |edition=UK |magazine=[[Business Insider]] |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/germany-europe-raccoon-problem-2016-6?r=US&IR=T |access-date=March 17, 2023 }}</ref> In the 1990s, only about 400&nbsp;raccoons were hunted yearly. This increased dramatically over the next quarter-century: during the 2015–2016 hunting season, 128,100&nbsp;raccoons were hunted, 60&nbsp;percent of them in the state of [[Hesse]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Rüschemeyer |first=Georg |date=August 28, 2015 |title=Waschbären: Der Mythos vom Nazi-Raccoon |language=de |trans-title=Washing bears: The myth of the Nazi raccooon |newspaper=[[Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung]] |via=Faz.net |url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/wissen/natur/wie-der-waschbaer-nach-deutschland-kam-13764015.html |access-date=March 17, 2023 |quote=Die Wahrheit darüber, wie die Waschbären in Deutschland heimisch wurden.}}</ref>

==== Distribution in the former Soviet Union==== Experiments in acclimatising raccoons into the [[Soviet Union]] began in 1936, and were repeated a further 25&nbsp;times until 1962. Overall, 1,222&nbsp;individuals were released, 64 of which came from zoos and fur farms (38 of them having been imports from Western Europe). The remainder originated from a population previously established in [[Transcaucasia]]. The range of Soviet raccoons was never single or continuous, as they were often introduced to different locations far from each other. All introductions into the [[Russian Far East]] failed; melanistic raccoons were released on Petrov Island near [[Vladivostok]] and some areas of southern [[Primorsky Krai]], but died. In [[Central Asia]], raccoons were released in [[Kyrgyzstan]]'s [[Jalal-Abad Province]], though they were later recorded as "practically absent" there in January&nbsp;1963. A large and stable raccoon population (yielding 1,000~1,500&nbsp;catches a year) was established in [[Azerbaijan]] after an introduction to the area in 1937. Raccoons survived an introduction near [[Terek River|Terek]], along the [[Sulak River]] into the [[Dagestan]]i lowlands. Attempts to settle raccoons on the [[Kuban River]]'s left tributary and [[Kabardino-Balkaria]] were unsuccessful. A successful acclimatization occurred in [[Belarus]], where three introductions (consisting of 52, 37, and 38&nbsp;individuals in 1954 and 1958) took place. By January&nbsp;1963, 700&nbsp;individuals were recorded in the country.{{sfn|Heptner|Sludskii|2002|pp=1380–1383}}

=== Urban raccoons === [[File:Waschbaer auf dem Dach.jpg|thumb|On the roof of a house in [[Bad Wildungen#Constituent municipalities|Albertshausen]], Germany]]

Due to its adaptability, the raccoon has been able to use [[urban area]]s as a habitat. The first sightings were recorded in a [[suburb]] of [[Cincinnati]] in the 1920s. Since the 1950s, raccoons have been present in [[metropolitan area]]s like [[Washington, D.C.]], [[Chicago]], [[Toronto]], and [[New York City]].<ref name="untersuchungen">{{cite thesis|first=Frank-Uwe|last=Michler|title=Untersuchungen zur Raumnutzung des Waschbären (''Procyon lotor'', L. 1758) im urbanen Lebensraum am Beispiel der Stadt Kassel (Nordhessen)|page=7|date=June 25, 2003|url=http://www.projekt-waschbaer.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Diplomarbeit-Waschbaer-Michler.pdf |access-date=December 7, 2008 |language=de|type=Diploma thesis at the University of Halle-Wittenberg}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nyc.gov/site/wildlifenyc/animals/raccoons.page | title=Raccoons - WildlifeNYC }}</ref> Since the 1960s, [[Kassel]] has hosted Europe's first and densest population in a large urban area, with about 50 to 150&nbsp;animals per square kilometer (130 to 390&nbsp;animals per square mile), a figure comparable to those of urban habitats in North America.<ref name="untersuchungen" />{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=108}} Home range sizes of urban raccoons are only 3 to 40&nbsp;hectares (7.5 to 100&nbsp;acres) for females and 8 to 80&nbsp;hectares (20 to 200&nbsp;acres) for males.<ref name="Stand der Wissenschaft">{{cite web|url=http://www.projekt-waschbaer.de/stand-der-wissenschaft/|title=Stand der Wissenschaft|access-date=December 7, 2008|last=Michler|first=Frank-Uwe|author2=Köhnemann, Berit A.|work=Projekt Waschbär|publisher=Gesellschaft für Wildökologie und Naturschutz e.V.|language=de|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090216055807/http://www.projekt-waschbaer.de/stand-der-wissenschaft/|archive-date=February 16, 2009}}</ref> In small towns and suburbs, many raccoons sleep in a nearby forest after foraging in the settlement area.<ref name="untersuchungen" />{{sfn|Bartussek|2004|p=20}} Fruit and insects in gardens and leftovers in municipal waste are easily available food sources.{{sfn|Bartussek|2004|p=21}} Furthermore, a large number of additional sleeping areas exist in these areas, such as hollows in old garden trees, cottages, garages, abandoned houses, and attics. The percentage of urban raccoons sleeping in abandoned or occupied houses varies from 15% in Washington, DC (1991) to 43% in Kassel (2003).{{sfn|Bartussek|2004|p=20}}{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=108}}

== Health == [[File:Baylisascaris larvae.jpg|left|upright|thumb|Raccoon roundworm ''[[Baylisascaris procyonis]]'' larvae]]

Raccoons can carry [[rabies]], a lethal disease caused by the [[neurotropic virus|neurotropic]] rabies [[virus]] carried in the [[saliva]] and transmitted by bites. Its spread began in Florida in the 1950s and was facilitated by the introduction of infected individuals to [[Virginia]] in the late 1970s.{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=113}}<ref name="y695">{{cite journal |last1=Szanto |first1=Annamaria G. |last2=Nadin-Davis |first2=Susan A. |last3=Rosatte |first3=Richard C. |last4=White |first4=Bradley N. |date=2011 |title=Genetic Tracking of the Raccoon Variant of Rabies Virus in Eastern North America |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1755436511000065 |journal=Epidemics |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=76–87 |doi=10.1016/j.epidem.2011.02.002 |pmid=21624778 |access-date=December 29, 2025}}</ref> Of the 6,940&nbsp;documented rabies cases reported in the United States in 2006, 2,615 (37.7%) were in raccoons.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Blanton|first1=Jesse D.|last2=Hanlon |first2=Cathleen A. |last3=Rupprecht |first3=Charles E. |date=August 15, 2007|title=Rabies surveillance in the United States during 2006|journal=Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association|volume=231|issue=4|pages=540–556|issn=0003-1488|doi=10.2460/javma.231.4.540|pmid=17696853|s2cid=52808485 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The [[United States Department of Agriculture|U.S. Department of Agriculture]], as well as local authorities in several U.S. states and Canadian provinces, has developed oral [[vaccination]] programs to fight the spread of the disease in endangered populations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/oral_rabies/index.shtml|title=National Rabies Management Program Overview|access-date=December 28, 2010|date=September 25, 2009|work=Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service|publisher=United States Department of Agriculture|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110110043024/http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/oral_rabies/index.shtml|archive-date=January 10, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://health.state.tn.us/FactSheets/raccoon.htm|title=Raccoons and Rabies|access-date=December 7, 2008|work=Official website of the State of Tennessee|publisher=Tennessee Department of Health|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115182910/https://health.state.tn.us/FactSheets/raccoon.htm|archive-date=January 15, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mrnf.gouv.qc.ca/english/press/press-release-detail.jsp?id=7091|publisher=Gouvernement du Québec|title=Major operation related to raccoon rabies – Close to one million vaccinated baits will be spread in the Estrie and Montérégie regions from August 18 to 23, 2008|access-date=December 28, 2010|date=August 18, 2008|archive-date=March 24, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324115342/http://www.mrnf.gouv.qc.ca/english/press/press-release-detail.jsp?id=7091}}</ref> The first human fatality attributed to the rabies virus strain commonly known as "raccoon rabies" was recorded in 2003.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Silverstein|first=M. A.|author2=Salgado, C. D. |author3=Bassin, S. |author4=Bleck, T. P. |author5=Lopes, M. B. |author6=Farr, B. M. |author7=Jenkins, S. R. |author8=Sockwell, D. C. |author9=Marr, J. S. |author10= Miller, G. B. |date=November 14, 2003|title=First Human Death Associated with Raccoon Rabies|journal=Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report|volume=52|issue=45|pages=1102–1103|url=https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5245a4.htm|access-date=December 7, 2008|pmid=14614408}}</ref> Among the main symptoms for rabies in raccoons are a generally sickly appearance, impaired mobility, abnormal vocalization, and [[aggression|aggressiveness]].<ref name="rabies">{{cite journal|last1=Rosatte|first1=Rick|last2=Sobey|first2=Kirk|last3=Donovan|first3=Dennis|last4=Bruce|first4=Laura|last5=Allan|first5=Mike|last6=Silver|first6=Andrew|last7=Bennett|first7=Kim|last8=Gibson|first8=Mark|last9=Simpson|first9=Holly|last10=Davies|first10=Chris|last11=Wandeler|first11=Alex|last12=Muldoon|first12=Frances|date=July 1, 2006|title=Behavior, Movements, and Demographics of Rabid Raccoons in Ontario, Canada: Management Implications|journal=Journal of Wildlife Diseases|volume=42|issue=3|pages=589–605|issn=0090-3558|pmid=17092890|doi=10.7589/0090-3558-42.3.589|bibcode=2006JWDis..42..589R |s2cid=22385302|doi-access=free}}</ref> There may be no visible signs at all, however, and most individuals do not show the aggressive behavior seen in infected canids; rabid raccoons will often retire to their dens instead.<ref name="stellungnahme" />{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=182}}<ref name="rabies" /> Organizations like the [[United States Forest Service|U.S. Forest Service]] encourage people to stay away from animals with unusual behavior or appearance, and to notify the proper authorities, such as an [[animal control officer]] from the local [[health department]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/misc/raccoon/raccoon.htm|title=The Raccoon – Friend or Foe?|access-date=December 7, 2008|work=Northeastern Area State & Private Forestry – USDA Forest Service}}</ref><ref name="wdfw">{{cite web|url=http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/living/raccoons.htm|title=Raccoons|access-date=December 7, 2008|last=Link|first=Russell|work=Living with Wildlife|publisher=Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080324192751/http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/living/raccoons.htm| archive-date = March 24, 2008}}</ref> Since healthy animals, especially nursing mothers, will occasionally forage during the day, daylight activity is not a reliable indicator of illness in raccoons.{{sfn|Bartussek|2004|p=10}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=99}}

Unlike rabies and at least a dozen other [[pathogen]]s carried by raccoons, [[Canine distemper|distemper]], an [[epizootic]] virus, does not affect humans.{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|p=72}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=114}} This disease is the most frequent natural cause of death in the North American raccoon population and affects individuals of all age groups.<ref name="ergebnisse" /> For example, 94 of 145 raccoons died during an outbreak in [[Clifton, Ohio]] in 1968.{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=112}} It may occur along with a following inflammation of the brain ([[encephalitis]]), causing the animal to display rabies-like symptoms.{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=113}} In Germany, the first eight cases of distemper were reported in 2007.<ref name="ergebnisse" />

Some of the most important [[bacteria]]l diseases which affect raccoons are [[leptospirosis]], [[listeriosis]], [[tetanus]], and [[tularemia]]. Although internal [[parasitism|parasites]] weaken their [[immune system]]s, well-fed individuals can carry a great many roundworms in their [[Gastrointestinal tract|digestive tracts]] without showing symptoms.{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|pp=73–74}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=114}} The larvae of the roundworm ''[[Baylisascaris procyonis]]'', which can be contained in the feces and seldom causes a severe illness in humans, can be ingested when cleaning [[raccoon latrine]]s without wearing breathing protection.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=169, 182}} While not endemic, the worm ''[[Trichinella]]'' does infect raccoons,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Winslow |last2=Price |last3=Heafie |last4=Herman |title=Trichinosis in Maryland Raccoons |journal=Bulletin of the Wildlife Disease Association |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=81–82 |date=July 1966 |doi=10.7589/0090-3558-2.3.81 |bibcode=1966BWDA....2...81W |s2cid=73935025 }}</ref> and undercooked raccoon meat has caused [[trichinosis]] in humans.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/trichinellosis/hunters.html|title=Trichinellosis: Trichinellosis Information for Hunters|website=CDC |date=July 28, 2017}}</ref> Trematode ''[[Metorchis conjunctus]]'' can also infect raccoons.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Wobeser | first1 = G. | last2 = Runge | first2 = W. | last3 = Stewart | first3 = R.R. | year = 1983 | title = ''Metorchis conjunctus'' (Cobbold, 1860) infection in wolves (''Canis lupus''), with pancreatic involvement in two animals | journal = [[Journal of Wildlife Diseases]] | volume = 19 | issue = 4| pages = 353–356 | pmid = 6644936 | doi=10.7589/0090-3558-19.4.353| s2cid = 35587314 }}</ref>

== Relationship with humans == === Conflicts === [[File:Curious Raccoon.jpg|thumb|A Florida raccoon (''P. l. elucus'') in the [[Everglades]] approaches a group of humans, hoping to be fed]] [[File:Urban raccoon and skunk.JPG|thumb|A [[Striped skunk|skunk]] and a California raccoon (''P. l. psora'') share cat food morsels in a [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]], California backyard]] [[File:Illegal to feed raccoons 2023.jpg|thumb|A sign in [[Catlettsburg, Kentucky]] advising that it is illegal to feed raccoons within that city]] Raccoons have become notorious in urban areas for consuming food waste. They possess impressive problem-solving abilities and can break into all but the most secure food waste bins, which has earned them the nickname "trash panda".<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=December 14, 2018 |title=Why are raccoons so good at getting into your garbage? |url=https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/why-are-raccoons-so-good-at-getting-into-your-garbage/ |first=Katie |last=Feather |website=[[Science Friday]]}}</ref> The presence of raccoons near humans may be undesirable, as raccoon droppings, like those of most wild animals, contain parasites and other disease vectors. [[Baylisascaris procyonis|Raccoon roundworm]] is of particular concern to public health. It can be contracted in humans by accidental ingestion or inhalation of the eggs, which are present in the feces of infected raccoons. While usually harmless to the host, it causes progressive neurological damage in humans and is eventually fatal if untreated. It is found in about 60% of adult raccoons. The general presence of raccoons in an area is not typically of concern, but nests or droppings found within or near structures should be destroyed. Roundworm eggs are very robust, and [[bleach]] alone is insufficient; burning or treatment with hot solutions of [[sodium hydroxide]] is required. The keeping of raccoons as pets is illegal in some jurisdictions due to these risks.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Raccoon Roundworm |url=https://www.mass.gov/service-details/raccoon-roundworm |website=Mass.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Raccoon Roundworm |url=https://cwhl.vet.cornell.edu/disease/raccoon-roundworm#collapse11 |website=Cornell University Wildlife Health Lab|date=November 9, 2016 }}</ref>

The increasing number of raccoons in urban areas has resulted in diverse reactions in humans, ranging from outrage at their presence to deliberate feeding.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=103–106}} Some wildlife experts and most public authorities caution against feeding wild animals, because they might become increasingly obtrusive and dependent on humans as a food source.{{sfn|Bartussek|2004|p=34}} Other experts challenge such arguments and advise on feeding raccoons and other wildlife in their books.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=117–121}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Harris|first=Stephen|author2=Baker, Phil |title=Urban Foxes|publisher=Whittet Books|location=Suffolk|year=2001|isbn=978-1-873580-51-6|pages=78–79}}</ref> Raccoons without a fear of humans are a concern to those who attribute this trait to rabies, but scientists point out this behavior is much more likely to be a behavioral adjustment to living in habitats with regular contact to humans for many generations.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=182}}{{sfn|Bartussek|2004|p=24}} Raccoons usually do not prey on domestic cats and dogs, but isolated cases of killings have been reported.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/local/282218_racoons23.html|title=Raccoons rampaging Olympia|access-date=December 7, 2008|date=August 23, 2006| work=seattlepi.com|publisher=Seattle Post-Intelligencer}}</ref> Attacks on pets may also target their owners.<ref name="Palomino2015">{{cite web | url = http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Pack-of-racoons-attack-a-couple-in-the-Richmond-6603325.php | title = Pack of raccoons attacks a couple in the Richmond District | last = Palomino | first = J. | date = October 31, 2015 | publisher = [[San Francisco Chronicle]] | access-date = November 1, 2015}}</ref>

While overturned waste containers and raided fruit trees are just a nuisance to homeowners, it can cost several thousand dollars to repair damage caused by the use of attic space as dens.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Michler|first=Frank-Uwe|title=Untersuchungen zur Raumnutzung des Waschbären (''Procyon lotor'', L. 1758) im urbanen Lebensraum am Beispiel der Stadt Kassel (Nordhessen) |page=108 |date=June 25, 2003 |url=http://www.projekt-waschbaer.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Diplomarbeit-Waschbaer-Michler.pdf |access-date=December 7, 2008 |language=de|type=Diploma thesis at the University of Halle-Wittenberg}}</ref> Relocating or killing raccoons without a permit is forbidden in many urban areas on grounds of [[animal welfare]]. These methods usually only solve problems with particularly wild or aggressive individuals, since adequate dens are either known to several raccoons or will quickly be rediscovered.{{sfn|Bartussek|2004|p=32}}<ref name="wdfw" />{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=142–144, 169}} Loud noises, flashing lights, and unpleasant odors have proven particularly effective in driving away a mother and her kits before they would normally leave the nesting place (when the kits are about eight weeks old).<ref name="wdfw" />{{sfn|Bartussek|2004|p=40}} Typically, though, only precautionary measures to restrict access to [[food waste]] and den sites are effective in the long term.<ref name="wdfw" />{{sfn|Bartussek|2004|pp=36–40}}{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=169}}

Among all fruits and crops cultivated in agricultural areas, [[sweet corn]] in its milk stage is particularly popular among raccoons.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=87–88}}{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|pp=49–50}} In a two-year study by [[Purdue University]] researchers, published in 2004, raccoons were responsible for 87% of the damage to corn plants.<ref>{{cite journal |last=MacGowan |first=Brian J. |author2=Humberg, Lee A. |author3=Beasley, James C. |author4=DeVault, Travis L. |author5=Retamosa, Monica I. |author6=Rhodes Jr., Olin E. |title=Corn and Soybean Crop Depredation by Wildlife |page=6 |publisher=Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University |date=June 2006 |url=http://www.ces.purdue.edu/extmedia/FNR/FNR-265-W.pdf |access-date=December 17, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216115857/http://www.ces.purdue.edu/extmedia/FNR/FNR-265-W.pdf |archive-date=December 16, 2008 |journal=Purdue Extension}}</ref> Like other predators, raccoons searching for food can break into [[poultry]] houses to feed on chickens, ducks, their eggs, or food.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=82}}<ref name="wdfw" />{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|pp=47–48}}

=== Mythology, arts, and entertainment === {{See also|List of fictional raccoons}} [[File:S.E.C.C. hero twins 3 HRoe 2007-transparent.png|thumb|Stylized raccoon skin as depicted on the Raccoon Priests [[gorget]] found at [[Spiro Mounds]]]]

In the [[mythology]] of the [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas]], the raccoon is the subject of [[Folklore|folk tales]].{{sfn|Holmgren|1990|pp=25–46}} Stories such as "How raccoons catch so many [[crayfish]]" from the [[Tuscarora (tribe)|Tuscarora]] centered on its skills at foraging.{{sfn|Holmgren|1990|pp=41–43}} In other tales, the raccoon played the role of the [[trickster]], which outsmarts other animals, like coyotes and wolves.{{sfn|Holmgren|1990|pp=26–29, 38–40}} Among others, the [[Dakota Sioux|Dakota]] believe the raccoon has natural spirit powers, since its mask resembles the facial paintings, two-fingered swashes of black and white, used during [[ritual]]s to connect to spirit beings.{{sfn|Holmgren|1990|pp=15–17}} The [[Aztecs]] linked supernatural abilities especially to females, whose commitment to their young was associated with the role of wise women in their society.{{sfn|Holmgren|1990|pp=17–18}}

The raccoon also appears in Native American art across a wide geographic range. [[Petroglyph]]s with engraved raccoon tracks were found in Lewis Canyon, Texas;<ref>{{cite web |first=Pamela |last=LeBlanc |url=http://www.austin360.com/recreation/content/recreation/stories/2008/12/1214rockart.html |title=Pictographs, petroglyphs on rocks record beliefs of earliest Texans |access-date=January 29, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090321230011/http://www.austin360.com/recreation/content/recreation/stories/2008/12/1214rockart.html |archive-date=March 21, 2009 |website=American Statesman |date=December 13, 2008 }}</ref> at the Crow Hollow petroglyph site in [[Grayson County, Kentucky]];<ref>{{cite book |title=Rock Art of Kentucky |first1=Fred E. |last1=Coy |first2=Thomas C. |last2=Fuller |first3=Larry G. |last3=Meadows |first4=James L. |last4=Swauger |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |date=2003 |pages=60, Fig. 65A }}</ref> and in river drainages near [[Tularosa]], the [[San Francisco River (Gila River tributary)|San Francisco River]] of New Mexico and Arizona.<ref>{{cite book |last=Schaafsma |first=P. |title=Indian Rock Art of the Southwest |location=Albuq. |publisher=U.NM |date=1992 }}</ref> The meaning and significance of the ''Raccoon Priests Gorget'', which features a stylized carving of a raccoon and was found at the [[Spiro Mounds]], Oklahoma, remains unknown.<ref name="spiro mounds">{{cite book|url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=TxYyscZlOXoC |page=123 }} |title=The Arts of the North American |date= September 25, 1986|access-date=March 19, 2010|isbn=978-0-933920-56-9|author1=Wade, Edwin L|publisher=Hudson Hills }}</ref>{{sfn|Holmgren|1990|p=45}}

=== Hunting and fur trade === [[File:Lanpher Furs Auto Coat Raccoon S71.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Car coat|Automobile coat]] made out of raccoon fur (1906, U.S.)]] [[File:Mm Gehege 02.jpg|thumb|Pen with climbing facilities, hiding places, and a watering hole (lower-left-side)]]

The fur of raccoons is used for clothing, especially for [[Raccoon coat|coats]] and [[coonskin cap]]s. At present, it is the material used for the inaccurately named "sealskin" cap worn by the [[Royal Fusiliers]] of [[Great Britain]].<ref>A Dictionary of Military Uniform: W.Y.Carman {{ISBN|0-684-15130-8}}</ref> [[Sporran]]s made of raccoon pelt and hide have sometimes been used as part of traditional [[Highland dress|Scottish highland men's apparel]] since the 18th century, especially in North America. Such sporrans may or may not be of the "full-mask" type.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.landmhighland.ca/products-page/full-mask/raccoon-full-mask-sporran/ |title=L&M Highland Outfitters |work=L&M Highland - Manufacturer of Military, Highland & Police products |date=February 16, 2015 |access-date=February 12, 2017 |archive-date=September 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170901023830/https://www.landmhighland.ca/products-page/full-mask/raccoon-full-mask-sporran/ }}</ref> Historically, [[Indigenous people of the Americas|Native American]] tribes not only used the fur for winter clothing, but also used the tails for ornament.{{sfn|Holmgren|1990|p=18}} The famous Sioux leader [[Spotted Tail]] took his name from a raccoon skin hat with the tail attached he acquired from a fur trader. Since the late 18th century, various types of [[scent hound]]s, called [[coonhound]]s, which can [[Treeing|tree]] animals have been bred in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.akc.org/breeds/black_tan_coonhound/history.cfm |title=Black and Tan Coonhound History|access-date=December 11, 2008|work=American Kennel Club}}</ref> In the 19th century, when coonskins occasionally even served as means of payment, several thousand raccoons were killed each year in the United States.{{sfn|Holmgren|1990|p=74}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=160}} This number rose quickly when [[Car coat|automobile coats]] became popular after the turn of the 20th century. In the 1920s, wearing a [[raccoon coat]] was regarded as a [[status symbol]] among [[college student]]s.{{sfn|Holmgren|1990|p=77}} Attempts to breed raccoons in fur farms in the 1920s and 1930s in North America and Europe turned out not to be profitable, and farming was abandoned after prices for long-haired pelts dropped in the 1940s.{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=161}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Schmidt|first=Fritz|title=Das Buch von den Pelztieren und Pelzen|year=1970|publisher=F. C. Mayer Verlag|location=Munich|language=de|pages=311–315}}</ref> Although raccoons had become rare in the 1930s, at least 388,000 were killed during the [[hunting season]] of 1934–1935.{{sfn|Holmgren|1990|p=77}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|pp=75, 160, 173}}

After persistent population increases began in the 1940s, the seasonal [[coon hunting]] harvest reached about one million animals in 1946–1947 and two million in 1962–1963.{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|pp=75, 160}} The broadcast of three television episodes about the [[American frontier|frontiersman]] [[Davy Crockett]] and the film ''[[Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier]]'' in 1954 and 1955 led to a high demand for [[coonskin cap]]s in the United States, although it is unlikely Crockett actually wore a cap made from raccoon fur.{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=170}} The seasonal hunt reached an all-time high with 5.2&nbsp;million animals in 1976–1977 and ranged between 3.2 and 4.7&nbsp;million for most of the 1980s. In 1982, the average pelt price was $20.<ref>The Red Panda, Olingos, Coatis, Raccoons, and Their Relatives: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan for Procyonids and Ailurids By A. R. Glatston, IUCN/SSC Mustelid, Viverrid & Procyonid Specialist Group Edition: illustrated Published by IUCN, 1994, p. 9 {{ISBN|2-8317-0046-9|978-2-8317-0046-5}}</ref> As of 1987, the raccoon was identified as the most important wild furbearer in North America in terms of revenue.<ref>The Red Panda, Olingos, Coatis, Raccoons, and Their Relatives: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan for Procyonids and Ailurids By A. R. Glatston, IUCN/SSC Mustelid, Viverrid & Procyonid Specialist Group Published by IUCN, 1994, p. 9</ref> In the first half of the 1990s, the seasonal hunt dropped to 0.9 from 1.9&nbsp;million due to decreasing pelt prices.{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|pp=160–161}}

===Food=== While primarily hunted for their fur, raccoons were also a source of food for Native Americans and early American settlers.{{sfn|Holmgren|1990|pp=18–19}}{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=165}} According to [[Ernest Thompson Seton]], young specimens killed without a fight are palatable, whereas old raccoons caught after a lengthy battle are inedible.{{sfn|Seton|1909|pp=1028}} Raccoon meat was extensively eaten during the early years of California, where it was sold in the San Francisco market for $1–3 apiece.{{sfn|Goldman|Jackson|1950|pp=14–17}} [[Slavery in the United States|American slaves]] occasionally ate raccoon at [[Christmas]], but it was not necessarily a dish of the poor or rural. The first edition of ''[[The Joy of Cooking]]'', released in 1931, contained a recipe for preparing raccoon, and US President [[Calvin Coolidge]]'s pet raccoon [[Rebecca (raccoon)|Rebecca]] was originally sent to be served at the [[White House]] [[Thanksgiving dinner|Thanksgiving Dinner]].<ref>Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Digireads.com Publishing, 2005, p.72.</ref><ref>San Diego's Hilarious History By Herbert Lockwood, William Carroll Published by Coda Publications, 2004, p. 46.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |first=Jen |last=O'Neill |url=https://www.findingdulcinea.com/features/feature-articles/2008/november/filling-the-position-of-first-pet/ |title=White House Life: Filling the Position of First Pet |website=findingdulcinea.com |date=November 12, 2008}}</ref>

Although the idea of eating raccoons may seem repulsive to most mainstream consumers, who see them as endearing, cute, or [[vermin]], several thousand raccoons are still eaten each year in the United States, primarily in the [[Southern United States]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Twohey |first=Megan |url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2008/jan/18/food/chi-raccoon_18_jan18 |title=Raccoon dinner: Who's game? Illinois, it turns out, has bountiful supply of the critters – and fans and foodies are gobbling them up – Chicago Tribune |publisher=Archives.chicagotribune.com |date=January 18, 2008 |access-date=March 19, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Hill |first=Lee |url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/59566.html |title=The other dark meat: Raccoon is making it to the table |publisher=McClatchy |website=Mcclatchydc.com |date=January 13, 2009 |access-date=March 19, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090801233722/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/59566.html |archive-date=August 1, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://mdc.mo.gov/nathis/mammals/raccoon/ |title=Mammals: Raccoon – (Procyon lotor) |publisher=Mdc.mo.gov |access-date=March 19, 2010| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080622145257/http://mdc.mo.gov/nathis/mammals/raccoon/| archive-date = June 22, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ngpc.state.ne.us/wildlife/raccoon.asp|title=Raccoon|access-date=December 7, 2008|work=Nebraska Wildlife Species Guide|publisher=Nebraska Game and Parks Commission|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081023082129/http://www.ngpc.state.ne.us/wildlife/raccoon.asp <!--Added by H3llBot-->|archive-date=October 23, 2008}}</ref> Some people tout the taste of the meat.{{r|crossan2015}}

===Other uses=== In addition to the fur and meat, the raccoon [[baculum]] (penis bone) have had numerous traditional uses in the [[Southern United States]] and beyond. Indigenous people used the bones as a [[pipe tool|pipe cleaning tool]].{{sfn|Zeveloff|2002|p=5}} The bones were used by [[moonshine]] distillers to guide the flow of whiskey from the drip tube to the bottle.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pierce |first=Daniel S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IUaqDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT414 |title=Tar Heel Lightnin': How Secret Stills and Fast Cars Made North Carolina the Moonshine Capital of the World |date=August 20, 2019 |publisher=UNC Press Books |isbn=978-1-4696-5356-3 |page=414 |language=en |quote=...the raccoon penis bone that Popcorn Sutton stuck through his trademark fedora and used to ensure that the condensed moonshine flowed smoothly into a collection container.}}</ref> With their tips filed down, the bones were used as [[toothpick]]s under the moniker "coon rods".{{efn|Other nicknames were "Alabama toothpick", "Arkansas toothpick", "mountain man toothpick" and "Texas toothpick".}}<ref>Charlotte Collins Bond. [https://www.thegagenweb.com/gamadison/history/coonrod.htm "Coonrod: Arkansas Tooth-pick."] Madison County GAGenWeb archives. 1998. ([http://elizabethprata.blogspot.com/2007/06/on-madison-countys-coonrod-competition.html Reprinted]) Retrieved July 5, 2023.</ref> In [[hoodoo (folk magic)|hoodoo]], the folk magic of the American South, the baculum is sometimes worn as an amulet for love or luck.<ref name="O'Sullivan">{{cite book|author=Joanne O'Sullivan|title=Book of Superstitious Stuff: Weird Happenings, Wacky Rites, Frightening Fears, Mysterious Myths & Other Bizarre Beliefs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kQAUTJS5frAC&pg=PA87|date=March 1, 2010|publisher=Charlesbridge Publishing|isbn=978-1-60734-367-7|page=87|quote=In the hoodoo (folk magic) tradition of the American South, a raccoon penis bone (scientifically known as the baculum) is a lucky charm used to attract love. In some areas, it's boiled to remove any trace of the animal, and then tied to a red ribbon and worn as a necklace. In other areas, the bones were traditionally given to girls and young women by suitors, and in still other places, the charms are worn by men. Earrings made from [[casting|cast]] raccoon penis bones became a fad in 2004, and celebrities such as Sarah Jessica Parker and Vanessa Williams were photographed wearing them. New Orleans gamblers are said to use the bones (also called coon dogs and Texas toothpicks) for luck.|access-date=October 27, 2015|archive-date=December 29, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151229155808/https://books.google.com/books?id=kQAUTJS5frAC&pg=PA87|url-status=live}}</ref> The bones also have decorative uses<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.knoxvilledailysun.com/lifestyle/2013/june/corn-in-a-jar.html |title='Corn from a Jar' Traces Moonshine's Smoky Mountain History. |newspaper=Knoxville Daily Sun |date=June 29, 2013 |access-date=July 5, 2023 |archive-date=July 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230728043756/https://www.knoxvilledailysun.com/lifestyle/2013/june/corn-in-a-jar.html }}</ref> (e.g. on the trademark hat of stock car racer [[Richard Petty]] or as earrings by actresses [[Sarah Jessica Parker]]<ref name="O'Sullivan"/> and [[Vanessa Williams]]<ref name="O'Sullivan"/>).

=== Pet raccoons === Raccoons are sometimes kept as [[pet]]s, which is discouraged by many experts because the raccoon is not a [[domestication|domesticated]] species. Raccoons may act unpredictably and aggressively, and it is extremely difficult to teach them to [[Animal training|obey commands]].{{sfn|Bartussek|2004|p=44}}{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=173–174}} In places where keeping raccoons as pets is not forbidden, such as in Wisconsin and other U.S. states, an [[exotic pet]] permit may be required.{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|p=129}}<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bluett|first1=Robert|last2=Craven|first2=Scott|title=The Raccoon (''Procyon lotor'')|page=2|publisher=Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System|year=1999|url=http://learningstore.uwex.edu/pdf/G3304.pdf|access-date=December 7, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081031124153/http://learningstore.uwex.edu/pdf/G3304.pdf|archive-date=October 31, 2008|journal=Cooperative Extension}}</ref> One notable pet raccoon was [[Rebecca (raccoon)|Rebecca]], kept by US president [[Calvin Coolidge]].<ref>{{citation|title=The President's House: 1800 to the Present|first=Margaret|last=Truman|publisher=Random House |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-307-41731-2 |page=150 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zIvmzQ33sm0C&pg=PT150}}</ref>

Their propensity for unruly behavior exceeds that of [[Skunks as pets|captive skunks]], and they are even less trustworthy when allowed to roam freely. Because of their intelligence and nimble forelimbs, even inexperienced raccoons are easily capable of unscrewing jars, uncorking bottles and opening door latches, with more experienced specimens having been recorded to open door knobs.<ref name="merriam1884" /> Sexually mature raccoons often show aggressive natural behaviors such as biting during the mating season.{{sfn|Bartussek|2004|p=44}}{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=185–186}} [[Neutering]] them at around five or six months of age decreases the chances of aggressive behavior developing.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=186}} Raccoons can become [[obesity|obese]] and suffer from other disorders due to poor diet and lack of exercise.{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=185}} When fed with [[cat food]] over a long time period, raccoons can develop [[gout]].{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|p=180}} Due to research regarding their social behavior, it is now forbidden by law in Austria and Germany to keep only one raccoon, to prevent loneliness.<ref name="gutachten">{{cite book|title=Gutachten über Mindestanforderungen an die Haltung von Säugetieren|url=http://www.lotor.de/download/haltung_saeugetiere.pdf|access-date=January 31, 2009|date=June 10, 1996|publisher=Bundesministerium für Verbraucherschutz, Ernährung und Landwirtschaft|location=Bonn, Germany|language=de|pages=42–43|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225123327/http://www.lotor.de/download/haltung_saeugetiere.pdf|archive-date=February 25, 2009}}</ref><ref name="mindestanforderungen">{{cite book|title=Mindestanforderungen an die Haltung von Säugetieren |url=http://www.ris.bka.gv.at/Dokumente/BgblAuth/BGBLA_2004_II_486/COO_2026_100_2_155421.pdf |access-date=August 21, 2010|date=December 17, 2004 |publisher=Bundesministerium für Gesundheit und Frauen|language=de|page=23}}</ref> Raccoons are usually kept in a [[pen (enclosure)|pen]] (indoor or outdoor), also a legal requirement in Austria and Germany, rather than in the apartment where their natural [[curiosity]] may result in damage to property.<ref name="gutachten" /><ref name="mindestanforderungen" />{{sfn|Bartussek|2004|p=44}}{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=184, 187}}{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|pp=130–131}}

When orphaned, it is possible for kits to be [[wildlife rehabilitation|rehabilitated]] and [[Reintroduction|reintroduced]] to the wild. However, it is uncertain whether they readapt well to life in the wild.{{sfn|MacClintock|1981|p=130}} Feeding unweaned kits with [[cow's milk]] rather than a kitten replacement milk or a similar product can be dangerous to their health.{{sfn|Bartussek|2004|p=44}}{{sfn|Hohmann|Bartussek|Böer|2001|pp=175–176}}

=== Local and indigenous names === {{hatnote|{{wiktionary inline|raccoon#Translations}}}} <!-- PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE ADDING AN INDIGENOUS OR LOCAL NAME FOR THIS BOX * All names should be from languages present in areas where raccoons are indigenous, or were once indigenous. * Names must be sourced and verifiable. --> {| class="wikitable collapsed" |+Local and Indigenous names for ''Procyon lotor'' |- ! Linguistic group or area !! Local / Indigenous name |- | {{small|[[Canadian French]]}} || {{small|''{{lang|fr|Raton laveur}}''}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hww.ca/fr/faune/mammiferes/le-raton-laveur.html|title=Faune et flore du pays - Le raton laveur|website=www.hww.ca}}</ref> |- | {{small|[[Choco languages|Choco]]}} || {{small|{{Lang|mis|Touaru}}}}<ref name="reid2009">Reid, F. A. (2009). ''A Field Guide to the Mammals of Central America and Southeast Mexico''. Oxford University Press. P. 263. {{ISBN|0-19-534322-0}}</ref> |- | {{small|[[Cocopah language|Cocopah]]}} || {{small|''{{lang|coc|NYmaṣ}}''}}<ref name="crawford1989">Crawford, J. M. (1989). ''Cocopa Dictionary''. p. 497. University of California Press. {{ISBN|0-520-09749-1}}</ref> |- | {{small|[[Cree language|Cree]]}} || {{small|''{{lang|cr|ᐱᓯᐢᑫᐢ (pisiskês)}}''}}<br />{{small|''{{lang|cr|ᐅᒋᑯᒼᓯᐢ (ocikomsis)}}''}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Search Results for: raccoon |url=https://www.creedictionary.com/search/?q=raccoon&scope=0 |website=Cree Dictionary |publisher=Miyo Wahkohtowin Education Authority |access-date=October 24, 2024}}</ref> |- | {{small|[[Cree language|Cree]] ([[Swampy Cree language|Swampy]] and [[Woods Cree|Woods]])}} || {{small|''{{lang|crm|kimociškw-}}''}}<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ellis |first1=C. Douglas |title=kimociškw- |url=https://spokencree.org/Glossary/entry/kimoci%C5%A1kw- |website=Spoken Cree, Cree Legends and Narratives: Glossary |publisher=Moose and Swampy Cree Dictionary |access-date=October 24, 2024}}</ref> |- | {{small|[[Creek language|Creek]]}} || {{small|''{{lang|mus|Wot•ko}}''}}<ref name="martin2004">Martin, J. P. & Mauldin, M. M. (2004). ''A Dictionary of Creek/Muskogee''. p. 150. University of Nebraska Press. {{ISBN|0-8032-8302-4}}</ref> |- | {{small|[[Lakota language|Lakota]]}} || {{small|''{{lang|lkt|wičhítegleǧa}}''}}, {{small|''{{lang|lkt|wičhá}}''}}<ref>*Ullrich, Jan. (2008). ''New Lakota Dictionary''. Lakota Language Consortium. {{ISBN|0-9761082-9-1}}.</ref> |- | {{small|[[Unami language|Lenape]]}} || {{small|''{{lang|unm|Nahënëm}}''}}<ref>{{cite web|title=nahënëm|url=http://www.talk-lenape.org/detail.php?id=5351|website=Lenape Talking Dictionary|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150901051148/http://www.talk-lenape.org/detail.php?id=5351|archive-date=September 1, 2015}}</ref> |- |{{small|[[Louisiana French]]}} |{{small|''{{lang|frc|Chaoui}}''}}<ref>{{Cite book |title=Dictionary of Louisiana French: As Spoken in Cajun, Creole, and American Indian Communities |year=2010 |collaboration=Valdman, Albert; Rottet, Kevin; et al. |publisher=University Press of Mississippi |isbn=978-1-60473-403-4 |publication-date=November 12, 2009 |pages=121}}</ref> |- | {{small|[[Mayan language|Mayan]]}}{{Specify|reason="Mayan" refers to many languages|date=December 2025}} || {{small|''{{lang|myn|Culu}}''}}<ref name="reid2009" /> |- | {{small|[[Mi'kmaq language|Mi'kmaq]]}} || {{small|''{{lang|mic|amaljugwej}}''}}<ref name="MOTD">{{cite web |publisher=Mi'gmaq/Mi'kmaq Online Talking Dictionary |url=https://mikmaqonline.org/entries/a/amaljugwej/amaljugwej.html |title=amaljugwej |date=2024 |access-date=June 12, 2025}}</ref> |- | {{small|[[Miskito language|Miskito]]}} || {{small|''{{lang|miq|Suksuk}}''}}<ref name="reid2009" /> |- | {{small|[[Nahuatl language|Nahuatl]]}} || {{small|''{{lang|nah|Mapachitli}}''}}{{sfn|Holmgren|1990|p=52}} |- | {{small|[[Navajo language|Navajo]]}} || {{small|{{Lang|nv|Tábąąh mą'ii}}}}<ref>Neundorf, A. (1983). ''A Navajo/English Bilingual Dictionary: Áłchíní Bi Naaltsoostsoh''. p. 615. UNM Press. {{ISBN|0-8263-3825-9}}</ref> |- | {{small|[[Nez Perce language|Nez Perce]]}} || {{small|{{Lang|nez|K'ayk'áyoc}}}}<ref>Aoki, Haruo (1994). ''Nez Percé dictionary.'' p.268. University of California Press. {{ISBN|0-520-09763-7}}</ref> |- | {{small|[[Lakota language|Oglala Lakota]]}}|| {{small|{{Lang|lkt|Wee'-cha}}}}<ref name="seton1010">{{Harvnb|Seton|1909|pp=1010}}</ref> |- | {{small|[[Ojibwe language|Ojibwe]]}} || {{small|{{Lang|oj|Esiban}}}}<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pitawanakwat |first1=Alphonse |last2=Sheldon |first2=Stacie |last3=Noodin |first3=Margaret |last4=St. Andrew |first4=Megan |title=Wild Animals (Awesiinh) |url=https://ojibwe.net/wild-animals-awesiinh/ |website=Ojibwe.net |access-date=October 24, 2024 |language=en |date=October 25, 2023}}</ref> |- | {{small|[[Omaha–Ponca language|Omaha–Ponca]]}} || {{small|{{Lang|oma|miká}}}}<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://omahaponca.unl.edu/omaha/view/5962 |title = Omaha Ponca Dictionary Omaha}}</ref> |- | {{small|[[Pawnee language|Pawnee]]}} || {{small|{{Lang|paw|Icat}}}}<ref>Parks, R. P.; Pratt, L. N. (2008). ''A Dictionary of Skiri Pawnee''. p. 252. University of Nebraska Press. {{ISBN|0-8032-1926-1}}</ref> |- | {{small|[[Spanish language|Spanish]]}} || {{small|{{Lang|es|Mapache}}}}<ref name="reid2009" /><br />{{small|{{Lang|es|Mapachín}}}}<ref name="reid2009" /><br />{{small|{{Lang|es|Tejón}}}}<ref name="reid2009" /><br />{{small|{{Lang|es|Gato manglatero}}}}<ref name="reid2009" /> |- | {{small|[[Wintu language|Wintu]]}} || {{small|{{Lang|wnw|Qari•lit}}}}<ref name="pitkin1985">Pitkin, H. (1985). ''Wintu Dictionary''. University of California Press. pp. 890. {{ISBN|0-520-09613-4}}</ref> |- | {{small|[[Yankton Dakota]]}}|| {{small|{{Lang|dak|Way-atch-a}}}}<ref name="seton1010" /> |}

== See also == * [[Cozumel raccoon]], an endangered species in the Yucatán Peninsula * [[Crab-eating raccoon]], of Central and South America, eats crustaceans amongst other things * [[Raccoon dog]], native to East Asia * [[Mexican raccoon]], native to Mexico and much of Central America

== Explanatory notes == {{Notelist}}

== Citations == {{Reflist|refs= <ref name=crossan2015>{{cite news |last1=Crossan |first1=Ashley |title='The Night Before' Star Anthony Mackie Perfectly Details How to Cook a Raccoon |url=https://www.etonline.com/movies/176381_anthony_mackie_on_how_to_cook_raccoon |access-date=November 25, 2020 |work=Entertainment Tonight |date=November 18, 2015}}</ref> }}

== General and cited sources == * {{EB1911|wstitle=Raccoon}} * {{cite book|last=Bartussek|first=Ingo|title=Die Waschbären kommen|publisher=Cognitio|location=Niedenstein, Germany|year=2004|isbn=978-3-932583-10-0|language=de }} * {{cite book|last1=Goldman|first1=Edward A.|last2=Jackson|first2=Hartley H.T.|url=https://archive.org/details/raccoonsofnorthm60gold|title=Raccoons of North and Middle America|series=North American Fauna |volume=60 |location= Washington |publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service |year=1950|via=Internet Archive}} * {{cite book|last1=Heptner|first1=V.G.|last2=Sludskii|first2=A.A.|url=https://archive.org/stream/mammalsofsov212001gept#page/1372/mode/2up|title=Mammals of the Soviet Union. Vol. II, part 1b, Carnivores (Mustelidae & Procyonidae)|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Libraries and National Science Foundation |location=Washington, D.C. |year=2002|isbn=978-90-04-08876-4|via=Internet Archive}} * {{cite book|last1=Hohmann|first1=Ulf|last2=Bartussek |first2=Ingo |last3=Böer |first3=Bernhard |title=Der Waschbär|publisher=Oertel+Spörer|location=Reutlingen, Germany|year=2001|isbn=978-3-88627-301-0|language=de }} * {{cite book|last=Holmgren|first=Virginia C.|title=Raccoons in Folklore, History and Today's Backyards|publisher=Capra Press|location=Santa Barbara, California|year=1990|isbn=978-0-88496-312-7|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/raccoonsinfolklo0000holm}} * {{cite book|last=Lagoni-Hansen|first=Anke|title=Der Waschbär|publisher=Verlag Dieter Hoffmann|location=Mainz, Germany|year=1981|isbn=978-3-87341-037-4|language=de }} * {{cite book|last=MacClintock|first=Dorcas|title=A Natural History of Raccoons|publisher=Blackburn Press|location=Caldwell, New Jersey|year=1981|isbn=978-1-930665-67-5}} * {{cite book|last1=Seton|first1=Ernest Thompson|url=https://archive.org/stream/lifehistoriesofn02seto#page/1010/mode/2up|title=Life-histories of northern animals: an account of the mammals of Manitoba|publisher=Scribner |location=New York City|year=1909|via=Internet Archive}} * {{cite book|last=Zeveloff|first=Samuel I.|title=Raccoons: A Natural History|publisher=Smithsonian Books|location=Washington, D.C.|year=2002|isbn=978-1-58834-033-7|url=https://archive.org/details/raccoonsnaturalh0000zeve |url-access=registration|via=Internet Archive}}

== External links == {{Commons category|Procyon lotor}} * [https://fohn.net/raccoon-pictures-facts/ Raccoon Tracks] – general information about raccoons * [https://web.archive.org/web/20170830020113/http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/raccoons.html Raccoons – Living with Wildlife] – information about dealing with urban raccoons from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife * {{cite web| url= https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/raccoon-nation-introduction/7518/| title= Raccoon Nation | work= [[Nature (TV series)|Nature]] | publisher= [[PBS]] | year=2012}} * ''[https://youtube.com/watch?v=fYSa58ZPnVE The Biology and Management of the Raccoon]'', c. 1970, Archives of Ontario YouTube Channel

{{Carnivora|C.}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q121439}} {{Authority control}}

[[Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]] [[Category:Articles containing video clips]] [[Category:Carnivorans of Central America]] [[Category:Carnivorans of North America]] [[Category:Mammals described in 1758]] [[Category:Mammals of Azerbaijan]] [[Category:Mammals of Europe]] [[Category:Mammals of Japan]] [[Category:Mammals of North America]] [[Category:Mammals of the Caribbean]] [[Category:Mammals of the United States]] [[Category:Procyon (genus)]] [[Category:Raccoons| ]] [[Category:Refuse-eating animals]]