Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Nate, a wonderful black Labrador that we once had, certainly recognized that raccoons weren't re-
lated to dogs. Whenever he saw a fox or another dog, Nate's body and tail language simply radiated
bonhomie. On the other hand, he was utterly infuriated by raccoons and missed no opportunity
to kill one whenever he found it in our barn. Nate had many epic battles with this sworn enemy
and—remarkably, since coons are savage fighters—never incurred a single wound from these encoun-
ters.
Although they're distantly related to bears, raccoons share a separate family with their nearest
kin—ringtails and coatis—and hence aren't closely related to any other group of mammals. The ringtail
(Bassariscus astutus)
ranges from southern coastal Oregon through California and the Southwest down
into Mexico. Marked in similar fashion to a raccoon, it looks much like a coon that's been stretched so
that it will fit through a narrow tube. The larger coati
(Nasua narica)
has a long, slender tail with rings
far less distinct than the coon's, as well as a less distinct facial mask; north of Mexico, it inhabits only
the very southern portions of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.
Raccoons are classified as carnivores and are certainly meat-eaters, but in fact they are omnivorous.
Fruit, acorns and other nuts, frogs, crayfish, salamanders, mussels, birds' eggs and young birds, insects,
worms, carrion, and garbage—to say nothing of the contents of bird feeders, such as suet and sunflower
seeds—are among the host of items that coons consume avidly. Then, of course, there is corn, partic-
ularly sweet corn. Raccoons are justly famous for raiding corn patches, and are the bane of many a
gardener's existence. A family of raccoons can utterly devastate a large patch of corn in just one night,
destroying many times what they actually eat. They know when the corn is just ripening, too; they'll
pass by it night after night without paying the slightest attention until the corn is almost ready for hu-
mans to pick—then virtually annihilate the entire patch in a single evening of unbridled gluttony.
In balance with its natural habitat, as it once was, the raccoon was simply a normal predator—a valu-
able part of the ecosystem. Because of their extreme adaptability, omnivorous appetites, and clever-
ness, however, they've learned to take advantage of human activities. In particular, they seem to regard
urban and suburban areas as their rightful domain; there they inhabit attics, crawlspaces, outbuildings,
and various other man-made structures, meanwhile growing fat on garbage, to say nothing of the bird-
seed and suet so thoughtfully provided by humans. The result is an enormous overpopulation that spills
out into rural areas and wreaks havoc on many creatures, including songbirds, ducks and geese, and
frogs—to say nothing of the contents of human gardens.
Our daughter-in-law's uncle owns a building and home-repair business, and not long ago he had an
experience that vividly demonstrates the scope of the problem. One of Albert's clients owned a home
which had been vacant for some months, and called to say that there was an apparent leak in the roof;
one of those ceiling lights with a concave glass disk below it was full of yellow liquid.
When Albert investigated, he found the attic full of raccoons—thirty-five, to be precise! The light
fixture was full of urine that had dripped through the ceiling, and the attic was inches deep in feces.
Now consider that for every instance such as this, there are dozens, and perhaps hundreds, of attics,
crawlspaces, and outbuildings that harbor one, two, or perhaps as many as five or six coons. The total
