Raccoon

Size

Head to hindquarters, raccoons measure between 40 and 70 cm (16 and 28 in), not including the bushy tail which can measure between 20 and 40 cm (8 and 16 in), but is usually not much longer than 25 cm (10 in).  The shoulder height is between 23 and 30 cm (9 and 12 in).  The body weight of an adult raccoon varies considerably with habitat; it can range from 2 to 14 kilograms (4 to 30 lb), but is usually between 3.5 and 9 kilograms (8 and 20 lb).

Food

While its diet in spring and early summer consists mostly of insects, worms, and other animals already available early in the year, it prefers fruits and nuts, such as acorns and walnuts, which emerge in late summer and autumn and represent a rich calorie source for building up fat needed for winter. Contrary to popular belief, raccoons eat active or large prey such as birds and mammals only occasionally, since they prefer prey which is easier to catch, specifically fish and amphibians.  When food is plentiful, raccoons can develop strong individual preferences for specific foods.  In the northern parts of their range, raccoons go into a winter rest, reducing their activity drastically as long as a permanent snow cover makes searching for food impossible.

Habitation

Although they have thrived in sparsely wooded areas in the last decades, raccoons depend on vertical structures to climb when they feel threatened.  Therefore, they avoid open terrain and areas with high concentrations of beech trees, as beech bark is too smooth to climb.  Tree hollows in old oaks or other trees and rock crevices are preferred by raccoons as sleeping, winter and litter dens. If such dens are unavailable or accessing them is inconvenient, raccoons utilize burrows dug by other mammals, dense undergrowth, roadside culverts in urban areas, or tree crotches.