raccoon

raccoon, nocturnal New World mammal of the genus Procyon. The common raccoon of North America, Procyon lotor, also called coon, is found from S Canada to South America, except in parts of the Rocky Mts. and in deserts. It has a stocky, heavily furred body, a pointed face, handlike forepaws, and a bushy tail. It is 1 1-2 to 2 1-2 ft (46–76 cm) long, excluding the 8 to 12 in. (20–30 cm) tail, with mixed gray, brown, and black hair, a black face mask, and black rings on the tail. It lives mostly in wooded areas and usually feeds along lakes and streams. A good climber, it often nests in a hollow tree or climbs aloft for refuge. It has a highly omnivorous diet, including nuts, seeds, fruits, eggs, insects, frogs, and crayfish. When water is available it may dip its food before eating; this so-called washing is associated with behaviors used for location and capture of aquatic prey, such as crayfish and frogs. Raccoons do not hibernate but sleep through cold spells in their dens. Their metabolism is normal during these periods and they wake easily. Adult males are usually solitary; females and young live in family groups. Raccoons have proved highly adaptable to civilization and are found even in large cities, where they feed on garbage. They are a minor nuisance in fields and gardens, but are valuable as destroyers of insects; their durable fur is used for coats and trimmings. The crab-eating raccoon, P. cancrivorus, is a semiaquatic, reddish-colored South American species. Other species are found on Caribbean islands. The raccoon family also includes the New World coatimundi, cacomistle (ring-tailed cat), and kinkajou as well as the red panda. Raccoons are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Carnivora, family Procyonidae.

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raccoon

 or ringtail

North American raccoon (Procyon lotor).

(credit: Leonard Lee Rue III)

Any of seven species of omnivorous, nocturnal carnivores (genus Procyon, family Procyonidae) characterized by a bushy, ringed tail and a black mask on the face. The North American raccoon (P. lotor) has a stout body, short legs, pointed muzzle, and small erect ears. It is 30–36 in. (75–90 cm) long, including the 10-in. (25-cm) tail, and weighs over 22 lb (10 kg). The shaggy, coarse fur is iron-gray to blackish. The feet resemble slender human hands. Raccoons eat arthropods, rodents, frogs, berries, fruit, and plants; in towns and cities they thrive on garbage. They prefer woods near water and usually live in hollow trees. The crab-eating raccoon (P. cancrivorus) of South America is similar but has coarser fur.

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raccoon, racoon

1. any omnivorous mammal of the genus Procyon, esp P. lotor (North American raccoon), inhabiting forests of North and Central America and the Caribbean: family Procyonidae, order Carnivora (carnivores). Raccoons have a pointed muzzle, long tail, and greyish-black fur with black bands around the tail and across the face

2. the fur of the North American raccoon

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raccoon [ra′kün]

(vertebrate zoology)

Any of 16 species of carnivorous nocturnal mammals belonging to the family Procyonidae; all are arboreal or semiarboreal and have a bushy, long ringed tail.