cute but infamous Raccoon

1. Raccoon (Procyon
lotor) Raccoons have black

2. fur masks across their eyes,
with bushy tails and rounded
ears. They also have
sharp teeth, broad skulls, and
big hunched backs. Many
consider them bandit-like
because they look like ninjas
and exhibit sneaky behavioral
traits. Raccoons are about the
size of a small dog, weighing
between 14 and 23 pounds.
 RACCOONS HAVE HIGH
LEVELS IQ
When considering
the mammal IQ scale,
raccoons rank closer to
humans than most
people would normally
think.
Raccoons are
known to have
evolving intelligence

3. and methods of
thinking
as a result of their
notable intelligence,
raccoons were once
candidates for lab
testing alongside
rats and monkeys
but were discarded
for being too smart,
adaptive and
strong-willed.
 RACCOONS HAVE
SPECIAL PAWS
Similar to human hands,
raccoons embody five dexterous
toes on each of their front paws
that essentially function as
human fingers. Raccoons have
special feet that are able to rotate
180 degrees which allows them

4. to climb up and down trees head
first. Another interesting feature
of raccoon paws includes the
abundance of nerves that allow
them to become extra sensitive
and send messages to the brain
– when underwater, raccoons
use this sensitivity to examine
objects.
 RACCOONS ARE AGILE
TREE CLIMBERS
One will almost always find
raccoons on the ground, so it’s
easy to believe that they never
climb trees. That’s because
they’re opportunistic scavengers
that love to rummage through
human refuse or garbage cans.
Raccoons are very agile and

5. nimble animals that love to climb
trees. They may even climb as
high as 40 feet (12 meters), and
falling from such elevated heights
doesn’t bother them.
 RACCOONS ARE
COLOR BLIND
That’s right;
raccoons have bad
eyesight and can’t
distinguish colors.
However, they do
pretty well in
discerning green
light, and they glow
red when a bright
light shines in their
eyes. Fortunately,
what raccoons lose
in eyesight, they
make up for in other

6. ways. But Raccoons
have excellent night
vision.
 RACCOONS DO NOT
HAVE LIFE-PARTNERS
Unlike wolves,
beavers and other
animals that mate
for life, raccoons
often have more
than one mating
partner. In fact,
male raccoons
attempt to mate with
multiple females
each season while
female raccoons
generally mate with
one partner. Unlike
other animals, male
raccoons have
nothing to do with

7. raising their
offspring and all of
the responsibility
falls on the mother
as she raises her
newborns alone.
 RACCOONS ARE
EXTREMELY CLEAN
ANIMALS
This fact may
surprise you since
raccoons are
popularly known for
digging in dirty
garbage cans in
search of food.
Contrary to this fact,
however, is that
raccoons are also
commonly known
for washing off their
food in water before

8. they eat it and when
they use the
restroom they bury
their droppings in
the same area as a
way of being more
sanitary.
 RACCOON DROPPINGS
CAN BE DEADLY
It’s a good thing
raccoons bury their
droppings because
they contain serious
illnesses for pets
and small children.
Unfortunately, if
raccoons are
burying their
droppings close to
your yard, that
places you and your
loved ones at risk.

9. Salmonella,
raccoon roundworm
and leptospirosis
are all bacterial
viruses and
parasites that are
found in raccoon
droppings. If
raccoons frequent
your yard space you
will want to find a
safe and effective
way of removing
their feces as well
as preventing
raccoons from
making your yard
their dumping
ground. Raccoon
roundworm is easily
spread since all you
have to do is be
close enough to

10. breathe in the
parasitic eggs. The
other viral infections
are spread by
touching actual
raccoon droppings.
 RACCOONS CAN
QUICKLY DESTROY
YOUR BELONGINGS
Those sharp claws
are made with
purpose and the
main purpose is to
climb to shelter or
shred items in order
to create their
nesting areas. If
raccoons get
underneath your
home they are more
than likely to tear
their way through
your insulation,

11. electrical wiring and
anything else that
would prove to be
good nesting
material. Their teeth
are also very good
at shredding things
allowing them to
quickly destroy
whatever is in their
path.
 RACCOONS ARE
NOCTURNAL
Raccoons are
nocturnal and are
therefore asleep for
majority of the day
and are most active
at night. Moreover,
there are many
myths claiming that
seeing a raccoon up
during daylight

12. hours indicates that
it is rabid. This is
not true as there are
many reasons as to
why a raccoon may
be awake, such as
the availability of
food during the
daytime.