Racoon Square Sticker

The racoon (i/ræˈkuːn/, Procyon lotor), sometimes spelled racoon,[2] also known as the common racoon,[3] North American racoon,[4] northern racoon[5] and colloquially as coon,[6] is a medium-sized mammal native to North America. The racoon is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of 40 to 70 cm (16 to 28 in) and a body weight of 3.5 to 9 kg (8 to 20 lb). Its grayish coat mostly consists of dense underfur which insulates against cold weather. Two of the racoon's most distinctive features are its extremely dexterous front paws and its facial mask, which are themes in the mythology of several Native American tribes. Raccoons are noted for their intelligence, with studies showing that they are able to remember the solution to tasks for up to three years. The diet of the omnivorous racoon, which is usually nocturnal, consists of about 40% invertebrates, 33% plant foods, and 27% vertebrates. The original habitats of the racoon are deciduous and mixed forests, but due to their adaptability they have extended their range to mountainous areas, coastal marshes, and urban areas, where some homeowners consider them to be pests. As a result of escapes and deliberate introductions in the mid-20th century, raccoons are now also distributed across the European mainland, the Caucasus region and Japan. Though previously thought to be solitary, there is now evidence that raccoons engage in gender-specific social behaviour. Related females often share a common area, while unrelated males live together in groups of up to four animals to maintain their positions against foreign males during the mating season, and other potential invaders. Home range sizes vary anywhere from 3 hectares (7 acres) for females in cities to 50 km2 (20 sq mi) for males in prairies. After a gestation period of about 65 days, two to five young, known as "kits", are born in spring. The kits are subsequently raised by their mother until dispersion in late fall. Although captive raccoons have been known to live over 20 years, their average life expectancy in the wild is only 1.8 to 3.1 years. The word "racoon" was adopted into English from the native Powhatan term, as used in the Virginia Colony. It was recorded on Captain John Smith's list of Powhatan words as aroughcun, and on that of William Strachey as arathkone. It has also been identified as a Proto-Algonquian root *ahrah-koon-em, meaning "[the] one who rubs, scrubs and scratches with its hands". Similarly, Spanish colonists adopted the Spanish word mapache from the Nahuatl mapachitli of the Aztecs, meaning "[the] one who takes everything in its hands". In many languages, the racoon is named for its characteristic dousing behaviour in conjunction with that language's term for bear, for example Waschbär in German, orsetto lavatore in Italian, mosómedve in Hungarian and araiguma in Japanese. In French and Portuguese (in Portugal), the washing behaviour is combined with these languages' term for rat, yielding, respectively, raton laveur and ratão-lavadeiro. In Dutch, they are called "wasbeer" ("wash bear") and in Sranantongo (Surinamese) they are called "krabdagu" ("scratch-dog"). The colloquial abbreviation coon is used in words like coonskin for fur clothing and in phrases like old coon as a self-designation of trappers. However, the clipped form is also in use as an ethnic slur. The racoon's scientific name, Procyon lotor, is neo-Latin, meaning "before-dog washer", with lotor Latin for "washer" and Procyon Latinised Greek from "before" and "dog". Four subspecies of racoon found only on small Central American and Caribbean islands were often regarded as distinct species after their discovery. These are the Bahaman racoon and Guadeloupe racoon, which are very similar to each other; the Tres Marias racoon, which is larger than average and has an angular skull; and the extinct Barbados racoon. Studies of their morphological and genetic traits in 1999, 2003 and 2005 led all these island raccoons to be listed as subspecies of the common racoon in the third edition of Mammal Species of the World (2005). A fifth island racoon population, the Cozumel racoon, which weighs only 3 to 4 kg (6.6 to 8.8 lb) and has notably small teeth, is still regarded as a separate species. The four smallest racoon subspecies, with an average weight of 1.8 to 2.7 kilograms (4.0 to 6.0 lb), are found along the southern coast of Florida and on the adjacent islands; an example is the Ten Thousand Island racoon (Procyon lotor marinus). Most of the other 15 subspecies differ only slightly from each other in coat colour, size and other physical characteristics. The two most widespread subspecies are the Eastern racoon (Procyon lotor lotor) and the Upper Mississippi Valley racoon (Procyon lotor hirtus). Both share a comparatively dark coat with long hairs, but the Upper Mississippi Valley racoon is larger than the Eastern racoon. The Eastern racoon occurs in all U.S. states and Canadian provinces to the north of South Carolina and Tennessee. The adjacent range of the Upper Mississippi Valley racoon covers all U.S. states and Canadian provinces to the north of Louisiana, Texas and New Mexico.