Search Results for: raccoon
Grubs: Raccoon Delicacies
Besides moles and voles, which leave obvious pathways and mounds on the ground, skunks and raccoons are the biggest culprits when it comes to wreaking havoc on lawns. Both are primarily interested in finding grubs (immature insects, or larvae, primarily of beetles) to eat. Because they go about locating their prey differently, it’s fairly easy […]
Raccoons Still Active
Due to the warm fall and early winter we’ve had this year, raccoons are still out and very active. They spent the fall building up an extra layer of fat – about one third of their total weight. This layer provides insulation and sustenance when the weather gets seriously cold and they seek dens (hollow […]
Young Raccoons Beginning To Venture Outside Of Den
Young raccoons usually will remain in their natal den until they are eight to ten weeks old. Around this time they start to eat solid food, grow very rapidly and begin to explore at night with their mother. Usually in late August and September they begin to go out on their own but the family […]
Raccoons Seeking Dens
Pregnant female Raccoons have recently been exploring potential natal dens where they will soon give birth to four or five young. This year’s litters will be well hidden from potential predators deep inside the tree cavities, caves and rock crevices their mothers have chosen. We won’t see the offspring for another month or two, after […]
Raccoon Latrines
A reliable way to determine an animal’s diet is to examine their scat, ideally several scats over the span of a few days, in every season. This is easily done with Raccoons, as they often create communal sites called latrines where they repeatedly defecate. The pictured latrine consists of several scats containing corn, apples and […]
Raccoons Preparing For Winter
Much like black bears, raccoons develop a voracious appetite in the fall and accumulate a life-sustaining layer of fat as a result (which comprises 50% of their weight). Although raccoons are opportunists and will eat just about anything (except tomatoes), nuts (acorns, beechnuts, hickory nuts and hazelnuts, especially) and corn are the food of choice […]
Raccoons Stirring
Even in mid-February, there are signs of spring. Tracks of animals that hole up during the cold winter months and emerge when the nights are warmer are starting to be seen. Raccoons often seek shelter in dens for months at a time during the winter (they don’t technically hibernate, but experience torpor). When night temperatures rise above freezing they abandon […]
Raccoons Active
Yesterday’s mystery tracks were those of a raccoon that was following a partially-open stream, emerging from the water only when it was necessary to cross ice in order to get to the next patch of open water. Temperatures have been on the mild side recently, so raccoons have been active. During very cold periods raccoons become lethargic […]
Young Raccoons Leaving Natal Dens
Most raccoons in the Northeast are born in April or early May and spend the next seven weeks inside a tree cavity (brush piles and underground burrows are known but not prevalent denning sites) living off their mother’s milk. Four to six weeks go by before the young are able to stand upright, but soon thereafter […]
Raccoons Still Active
With the warm weather we’ve been experiencing, raccoons have remained active, primarily between sunset and midnight. (They tend to hole up, sometimes in groups, during very cold or stormy weather, becoming lethargic and living off of stored body fat.) Until winter weather really arrives, an early morning walk along a stream will often result in […]
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