Raccoons

Contrary to popular belief:

1. Raccoons usually have only one litter per year ranging from 3 to 5 babies. They are usually born in late March through May. However, if the first litter does not survive, the mother will have another litter that year. Eyes open around day 21-23 but the kits do not leave the den area or begin to follow mother until around the age of 6 to 7 weeks.

2. As with most wildlife, the female is totally responsible for rearing the young. The father is chased off prior to birth, and keeps a respectful distance from the mother and young. Lactating females do forage for food during daylight hours, but will normally retreat if they see you.

3. Raccoons have salivary glands. They do not have to wash their food. They love getting their paws wet as it increases the pleasure they get from "feeling" their food. The pads of their feet are like kidskin gloves, full of nerves which allows the raccoon to "see" the food without actually looking at it.

4. Their intelligence rates just below primates and, like two year old children, they do not know the meaning of the word "NO" and never forget something they have learned.

(Click pictures for a better view)

Diseases of concern associated with raccoons which may be passed on to humans: Rabies, Baylisascaris Larvae Migrans & Leptospirosis.

"Please Lord—Give me grapes!"

It all started when my real mother was moving us and accidentally dropped me in the middle of a 4 lane highway. What a scary place!

This nice lady stopped and picked me up. (She thought I was a baby Opossum)! I didn't have a mask or rings on my tail yet and only weighed 2 oz’s).

She took me to my foster Mom who is an animal rehabilitator.

I was so hungry. My new Mom fed me milk replacer with a baby bottle until I was old enough to eat solid food. I ate and ate, but for some reason, I just wasn’t growing!

After weeks of working on me, my foster mom breathed a sigh of relief when I began to gain weight. She said "Doody, if you get up to 5+ lbs., you can go free." (most full grown raccoons in my area weigh 10 to 15 lbs.).

I am now free and weigh about 7 pounds and still gaining, but stop by home almost every day and pray that Mom will have some grapes for me.