Mammals

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This article is currently worked on by the main author of the mentioned German article (which the Swedish article is based on). --Novil Ariandis (talk) 22:00, 22 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

How about an article on pet raccoon? There's an article on pet skunk. Kent Wang 11:23, 17 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Go for it. There are certainly a lot of resources on pet raccoons. Word has it that they are more destructive than skunks, though, and also have more of a tendency to bite. — Nathanlarson32767 (Talk) 03:19, 22 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Resources about pet raccoons: [1], [2].

how does 'washing' the food help them feel it? i've never known water to do anything but impair the sense of touch.

Good question. I'll post some sources here to further research the issue. Looks like the safest thing to say is that while they appear to wash their food, nobody knows why they do it. It doesn't seem to be because food is dirty.

• [3] Says washing helps feel food
• [4], [5], [6] Say studies are inconclusive and conclusions are speculative. [7] Comments that racoons even try to "wash" their food when there is no water.

I've edited the article text to reflect the above. Please comment and improve. Kent Wang 11:20, 17 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Is everyone happy with my two-coloured distribution map? --Abbott75 00:02, 3 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Links explaining raccoon distribution: http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/tmot1/procloto.htm http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/UW033 Liblamb 01:48, 19 Apr 2005 (UTC)

This page seems a little specific; Procyon lotor is not the only species known as the raccoon, and Procyon redirects back to this page. If this page is only for the common raccoon, shouldn't there be pages for racoons/Procyon in general?--Prosfilaes 06:31, 19 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Agreed—I've forked Procyon and retitled this page. The redirect from Raccoon to Common Raccoon is a little frustrating in terms of the sheer volume of pages, and ideally with a bit more work we could get the Procyon content into the Raccoon namespace down the line (akin to how Chimpanzee and Common Chimpanzee are split), but for now I think the redirect makes the most sense. -The Tom 03:55, 14 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

A spate of impatience/boredom on my part has now gotten Raccoon up and running as the genus article. -The Tom 07:32, 14 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

"Raccoons usually live together in small, loose groups." Aren't these "groups" actually the female with her kits, including immature males. Raccoons are intensely territorial at some times of the year. "Groups" of raccoons may be drawn together briefly by a windfall, such as downed plums in an orchard. --Wetman 06:29, 17 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The statement is correct, though "often" would be better than "usually". Related females often share a territory and males ofen form groups of 2 to 4 individuals. If there is enough food available, they are surely not "intensely territorial" and it's not uncommon to see more than a dozen raccoons altogether at rich feeding grounds. --89.14.66.146 19:49, 26 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Some live with the humans See- http://www.trooper-raccoons-tale.com/ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.63.68.254 (talk) 16:42, 7 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Racoons do attack and kill cats and dogs. I watched two racoons corner a cat in a tree out side my window (Rumson, NJ) and then kill it. There are currently 6 cats missing. I also checked google. Olympia Washington has the same problem. Check it out, they are killing the competition for thier "food" and eating it too! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Badad666 (talk • contribs) 22:10, 4 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

What does that mean? What research? --Gbleem 13:36, 17 January 2007 (UTC) http://www.trooper-raccoons-tale.com/ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.63.68.254 (talk) 16:37, 7 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Most likely caused by leucism. I will go back and check. -- Wikidragon 22:42, 23 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I am surprised that although the article describes the racoon's ringed tail as being a distinctive feature there are no photos on the pagee in which this is visible. I think that might be a good addition to the article, I notice there is such a picture on the swedish article linked above. Stardust8212 16:29, 17 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Someone suggested that this article be merged, yet started no debate about it. I suppose I'll take it upon myself to do so. Aprogressivist 15:57, 18 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Tentatively oppose: The Common Raccoon is a type species of the raccoon; there does seem to be some ground, therefore, to differentiate between the two. Aprogressivist 15:57, 18 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I am the main writer of the featured German article and I think that there should be an article about the raccoons and the common raccoon. Our solution is, that "raccoon" leads to the big article for the common raccoon, wheras "raccoons" leads to the overview article for the genus Procyon. Currently, your raccoon article contains info which is supposed to be in the common raccoon article. However, both articles are not really satisfying, especially the completely unnecessary chapter about raccoons as food. --89.14.66.146 19:36, 26 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

• I agree- because the other species of raccoon have their own articles, the common raccon should have one Ryan shell 20:46, 5 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

• Oppose; we need a page for Procyon. I don't see why the section about raccoons as food is completely unnecessary; animals which have been used as food animals by humans should have something mentioning that on their pages. It should probably be here in Common Raccoon, though.--Prosfilaes 22:17, 5 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

• Oppose, for organizational reasons if nothing else. It seems to me that much of the material now in the genus article actually belongs here though. When we're talking about urban-adapted raccoons and those introduced into Europe, Procyon lotor is the specific species, no? TCC (talk) (contribs) 03:56, 23 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

• Oppose I just happened to surf over here and happened to catch and fix some vandalism. But then I saw this debate and figured I'd weigh in. I'm no zoologist, but I think it's pretty clear that taxonomically it's unacceptable to merge the two articles. Since everyone seems to already agree on this point, it's probably okay to remove the merge header and just start working on making sure information is in the right article. --JayHenry 04:16, 21 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

• See new merge proposal. Not sure if it's the same as this one. --greenmoss 02:10, 17 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Looks like the Raccoon article is "procyon lotor", as is this one. I don't see a difference. Should they be merged? --greenmoss 01:46, 17 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

See above. Raccoon should be about genus Procyon, not about this species. As I said before, probably much of the material at Raccoon belongs here instead, but they should remain separate articles. TCC (talk) (contribs) 03:28, 17 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

All the information on Procyon lotor needs to go to the Common Raccoon page, leaving only the information on the genera and the two lesser known species. It would also be nice if a photo of one of the other species was in the infobox. Speciate 17:46, 3 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

First image looks like Procyon insularis to me, isn't the common raccoon Procyon lotor?

I'm pretty sure the image is misidentified too. Speciate 00:04, 20 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I've prophylactically exchanged it with the pic at Raccoon. Speciate 00:32, 20 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

P. insularis has a much less distinct mask, if I'm not mistaken. See [8]. I think the ID is correct, but I note it was uploaded by a German Wikipedia editor, who presumably took the photo locally. I wouldn't be surprised to discover that the European populations have developed a few distinctive traits. TCC (talk) (contribs) 02:21, 20 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

This is definitely a member of the species Procyon lotor. Coons with dark brown or nearly black fur are more common in Germany (those were bred in fur farms), but still rare. I re-inserted it because it is still the best portrait of a raccoon until some friend of mine will send me a picture of a raccoon with a standard coloring in some days. --Novil Ariandis (talk) 22:25, 22 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I just heard on Discovery Channel, "Craftiest Animals", that raccoons don't wash their food. It is mistaken for washing their food when they are seen digging in water for certain animals in there that they eat. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.170.24.54 (talk) 15:06, 9 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Is there any evidence for the last paragraph in this section? It's anecdotal at best, and when I tried to add a balancing view it was reverted. Which seems more plausible, that people would avoid eating raccoons because they eat garbage and often carry diseases, or because they view them as "intelligent" and therefore identify with them? Both observations are completely anecdotal. I don't see why one is automatically more valuable than the other. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 123.195.21.198 (talk) 16:26, 28 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

ÁĆÉĹ- How about an article on racoon hunting in the old days. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.78.46.144 (talk) 14:30, 10 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Raccoons are still eaten. Most consumers prefer to keep that fact private, and do not advertise the fact they eat "'coon" because they would be made the object of jokes and even shunned by some in the community. Usually trappers and hunters provide the meat direct to the consumer, for this reason. You won't see raccoon meat on store shelves but consumption goes on. Most states have meat inspection laws, and bar restaurants from serving meat that hasn't passed inspection. Wild game often does not pass; however it is usually legal for hunters/trappers to sell meat directly to a private consumer. Many times trappers will ask about a "meat market" for coon on internet forums, and those with connections contact them with the information. Tsarevna (talk) 09:00, 30 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The range is stated as North America, but my wife and I just returned from our honeymoon in Costa Rica, where we found that raccoon's are populous as far as Panama.

Please remember to sign your talk posts with four tildes like this:~~~~

Second, I too, have spent time in Costa Rica. Is it possible what you saw was a Coati? Coatis are extremely common in the country. VanTucky ^Talk 04:38, 19 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Regarding the feral range in europe of raccoons that escaped fur farms, the article states that this is in the Caucasus region, but the map shows the european feral range (in blue) as being more in central europe around the Alps. One of the two is wrong. Aapold (talk) 19:11, 7 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I have drawn and uploaded a much more accurate map yesterday. To draw the correct distribution range in Canada and the Rocky Mountains is difficult, though, because there are quite different borders in every book. --Novil Ariandis (talk) 23:11, 20 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I uploaded a Raccoon track image Image:Raccoon track foot print in mud.jpg to commons, then I noticed the excellent image Image:Waschbaer fg01.jpg already on the article. if anyone thinks this second image of the track in the mud should be added please do so. Jeepday (talk) 11:10, 15 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Here is a short overview of my opinion of the books about raccoons I have read. I have corrected several serious errors in the article and added new chapters during the last two days according to the information given in these credible sources. Other sources are often not accurate, what is true for newspaper articles and articles at wildlife websites of all kinds.

• (de) Ulf Hohmann: Der Waschbär. Oertel+Spörer, Reutlingen 2001, ISBN 978-3886273010 – the definitive book about the species with an unmatched overview of appearance and behaviour (the author has studied them for a whole decade)
• (de) Ingo Bartussek: Die Waschbären kommen. Cognitio, Niedenstein 2004, ISBN 978-3932583100 – useful information about urban raccoons
• (de) Anke Lagoni-Hansen: Der Waschbär. Verlag Dieter Hoffmann, Mainz 1981, ISBN 3-87341-037-0 – very outdated regarding the behaviour, but with very exact statistics
• Samuel I. Zeveloff: Raccoons: A Natural History. Smithsonian Books, Washington, D. C. 2002, ISBN 978-1588340337 – extensive information, but a bit outdated regarding the social behaviour
• Dorcas MacClintock: A Natural History of Raccoons. The Blackburn Press, Caldwell (New Jersey) 2002, ISBN 978-1930665675 – good overview, but a bit outdated regarding the social behaviour
• Virginia C. Holmgren: Raccoons in Folklore, History and Today's Backyards. Capra Press, Santa Barbara (Kalifornien) 1990, ISBN 978-0884963127 – very interesting facts about raccoons in mythology, but not much information about appearance and behaviour

--Novil Ariandis (talk) 23:06, 20 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I don't want to be a smart ass, but I want to ask every reader of this to be very cautious about information given about raccoons on websites or articles not specifically mentioned or used as a source for this article. Zoology is not an exact science so there are always controversial topics which some people may have other opinions about. However, the information given on nearly all external websites and many newspaper articles are unsourced at best and completely wrong at worst. (The information given about foxes seems to be not as inaccurate most of the time, for example.)

You often see articles where it is stated that raccoons live solitary. But it is not done in a way like "Yes, we have read the studies of S. D. Gehrt and have heard about the similar results of Ulf Hohmann which suggest that raccoons are not loners. But we believe that they have misinterpreted their data because of A and B, and have not taken into account C and D." Then we could talk, as I am always interested in new insights. No, it is just stated "Raccoons live solitary!" without further explanation. What were the sources for this bold statement? An encyclopedia of the 1970s?

But it's not only those topics about behavior, even the facts about such simple things like the average litter size are often wrong which is for example said to be "around 5". How did they got this figure? An extensive listing of studies in various states on page 50 of Der Waschbär (The Raccoon) from Anke Lagoni-Hansen shows that the litter size is somewhere around 3.5, with only one sample reaching 5.0.

Keep such things in mind if somebody wants to sell you a raccoon for a tanuki in the future ;-). --Novil Ariandis (talk) 10:40, 23 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I want to thank all other contributors who have corrected spelling mistakes or similar errors in my texts or who might do that in the future. It is not always easy for me to find the right words in English and sometimes when I have to use dict.leo.org I wonder if the proposed translation is really correct. So I'd like to ask you to correct my spelling and grammar anytime. --Novil Ariandis (talk) 10:40, 23 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I *believe* that raccoons are believed to be mainly eaten in "backwoods" regions, but User:DavidOaks fails to deliver a credible source for this statement. On the website given by him are just some recipes without mentioning anything about eating habits in Southern America or anywhere else. Furthermore, the website is not maintained by an organisation I would call credible. I have to ask at least for an article in a respected newspaper or an online magazine for statements like this (a website maintained by a college or a government site would be better). --Novil Ariandis (talk) 14:59, 26 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

This source, from North Carolina state university doesn't say who eats them, but is a valid reference that they are used as human food: [9]. Here's another from Ohio [10]. They don't specify who is eating the raccoons, but there is no mention of "backwoods." Bob98133 (talk) 15:10, 26 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]