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ACCOONS — Procyon lotor Like all animals that have adapted successfully to human intrusions, raccoons are viewed with mixed emotions. Although some people consider them nothing more than pests, many of us find these inquisitive masked animals endlessly appealing. Anyone who has watched raccoons for any length of time recognizes their fierce intelligence. In tests conducted by Dr K.L. Michels of Purdue University, they far outperformed cats in problem solving. "It took just 800 trials to achieve 75% success on a given problem... cats needed 7,000 trials to reach the same success ratio" (Stewart 1981). This intelligence is what gives them an edge in the adaptability stakes. Raccoons favour wooded habitat near water, but are also found in brushy, scrub areas and, as we know, can survive in urban settings. During the summer, they den near water, often in hollow trees. In fall, they find a site similar to their summer one in which to sleep the winter away. But they aren't true hibernators, because there is no decrease in their body temperature or metabolic rate. Sometimes groups of raccoons share a den to reduce winter heat loss. After a pregnancy lasting 60 to 73 days, the female gives birth to a litter of 3 or 4 young. Unlike some small mammals, raccoons have only one litter per year. Raccoons weigh in at anywhere from 12 to 30 pounds, but they can weigh up to a whopping 55 pounds! Including their tails, they are 2.5 to 3.1 feet in length. Adrian Forsyth says that "the list of food items eaten by raccoons would run into the thousands." He notes that "they readily incorporate novel foods into diet and, because of their manual dexterity, [are] able to handle items as diverse as crayfish, snakes and the contents of well-closed garbage cans." Their Latin name is Procyon lotor; lotor means "washer" and refers to their habit of wetting food before eating.
Sources: Mammals of the Canadian Wild (1985) by Adrian Forsyth and
Canadian Wildlife Almanac (1981) by Darryl Stewart
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