Information on Raccoons

Raccoons are beautiful creatures of the wild, but they carry diseases and can be very destructive. Some coons will get into the city and can become destructive and menacing. Raccoons find places to sleep during the day in or around homes. The damaging ability of the raccoon can be devastating to homeowners and those who camp in the wild with the raccoons nearby.

  1. Description

    • The raccoon can be identified by its ringed tail and bandit mask. Raccoons are brownish in color with a white face, black patches around each eye and a black stripe running from the tip of the nose to the top of the forehead. The average weight of a raccoon is about 6 to 12 lbs. for females and 10 to 15 lbs. for males, but when they live around humans or in local neighborhoods where there is easy access to food, their weight can be as much as 50 lbs. or more. Raccoons can be as much as 3 feet from nose to the end of the tail.

    Diet

    • Raccoons will eat just about anything they can find. In the city, coons will eat sweet corn and grapes from gardens. In the wild, coons will eat crayfish, fish, worms, vegetables and fruits as well as white grubs that are buried in the soil. Raccoons are scavengers that will get into trash cans and bins to find food. Campers are told to keep all food products secure in a camper or a car so that the coons will not invade a campsite searching for the food that they smell.

    Reproduction

    • Raccoons can have as many as five young from early spring to the beginning of summer. The gestation period for the raccoon is 63 days.The young will stay with their mother until they are weaned at about 2 months old. Some young will stay with the mother through the first winter to learn how to hunt and find food to survive.

    Damage

    • Raccoons will invade chicken coops and planted fields in search of food. Because the raccoon's diet is so diverse, nothing is safe from their reach. The coons will eat pet food that is left outdoors for an outside cat or dog, and if the pet protects its food, the coon may become aggressive and attack the pet to get the food. One raccoon can spill garbage cans and drag debris all over while feasting on its findings.

    Diseases

    • Raccoons are one of four wild animals in the U.S. thought to carry the rabies virus. However,there has only been one recorded death due to the rabies strain carried by a raccoon, according to the Humane Society of the United States. The coons carry roundworms, which humans can contract through the inhalation of the roundworm eggs through the feces. For this reason, avoid areas where raccoons defecate, and wear a mask and gloves if you have to clean up after them. The coons also can carry other diseases, such as mange, canine distemper, fleas, mites, ticks and lice.

    Habitats

    • Raccoons will find homes in a tree stump above ground or use an abandoned underground home once inhabited by woodchucks. They will live in attics, chimneys, storm sewers and under homes in crawl spaces. Some raccoons will lie in long grasses if they feel the area is secure and uninhabited by other wild animals and humans. Coons will sleep during the day and come out at night to feed, but it is not unusual to see coons during the early evening hours while the sun is still up.