Raccoons are small animals about the size of a fox. They live in trees or on the earth. They are nocturnal animals. They sleep during the day and wake up at nightfall.
What Raccoons Look Like.
Raccoons have thick fur and have a bushy tail with black rings on it.
Raccoon Homes.
A raccoon’s home is in a den or sometimes in a tree or in a hole among rocks. It may be the old underground home of another animal, such as a skunk. The den is a safe place to live. On a warm day, a raccoon may climb into a tree and lie in the fork of branch or in an abandoned bird’s nest. A raccoon likes to sleep in the sun.
A raccoon’s home is in a den or sometimes in a tree or in a hole among rocks. It may be the old underground home of another animal, such as a skunk. The den is a safe place to live. On a warm day, a raccoon may climb into a tree and lie in the fork of branch or in an abandoned bird’s nest. A raccoon likes to sleep in the sun.
Raccoons In Autumn.
While it’s autumn, raccoons eat lots and lots of food.They become fat and move slowly. When winter comes and food is all gone, the extra fat helps them to stay alive.
Raccoons also grow a very thick coat of fur to keep them warm.
Raccoons In Winter.
Raccoons that live in very cold parts of North America, sleep in their den for long periods during winter, and only come out in warmer days.
Raccoon Babies
When it’s spring, a mother has two or six babies. Raccoon babies are called cubs. When cubs are born, they are very small and blind. At about seven weeks old, the cubs leave the den for the first time. When the cubs are older, their mother takes them hunting with her. She teaches them where to find food and how to catch it. Mother raccoon and her cubs keep in touch with each other by making all sorts of noises. They can hiss, growl, purr and grunt. Cubs are very good at climbing trees
Hunting For Food.
Many raccoons live in woodlands, very near some streams and lakes, where food is easy to find.
When it is dark, the raccoons wake up and leave their dens to go hunting. Sometimes they hunt for mice, earthworms and grasshoppers. They wade and swim to find fish, crayfish, tadpoles, frogs and turtles. Raccoons use their front paws to catch moving fish. They can open mussel shells with their strong fingers, and feel for frogs hiding in the mud.
The Masked Bandit.
Raccoons sometimes raid hen houses and take eggs or young chicks. They use their front paws to open the hen house doors.
Raccoons will climb trees to find birds’ eggs or nestlings.
They will tip over birds’ nests to eat the yum seeds. They take fruit from sunny orchards and vegetables from gardens.
Raccoons In The City
Most raccoons live in or close to towns and cities. Because they eat different foods, they always find plenty of food to eat in rubbish dumps and inside garbage cans. When there is plenty of snacks, raccoons will eat as much as they can to fill up their chubby stomachs, then they will nap for a while, and then wake up to eat some more food. They do this lots of times.
