Masked Bandit

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Meet Procyon lotor – the Northern Raccoon. This may singularly be the largest raccoon I've had the pleasure to photograph with a trail camera.  The word raccoon comes from the Native American word arakum meaning - he who scratches with his hand. 

While a raccoon‘s paw has five fingers they do not have an opposable thumb.  As a consequence, raccoons lack the dexterity of primates.  Nevertheless, they will use their hands to pick-up and carry objects, hunt and fish. They are intrepid climbers and can swim as well.  

A nocturnal animal they can grow up to twenty pounds and a couple of feet in length. While the animal in the photo looks cuddly and huggable you should never make a grab for a raccoon as they’re not going to reciprocate your advances and will likely bite and scratch.  They are also known to be rabid or infected with roundworm, leptospirosis and salmonella. 

Yuck! 

Raccoons do not hibernate during the cold winter months – however they do sleep a great deal and put on an extra layer of fat for the duration. It has occurred to me that this might just be mama raccoon.  Mama will whelp a litter of three to six offspring per year – usually in May.  Born with their eyes closed a newborn is called a kit.  A group of raccoons is called a nursery or a gaze and they’ll leave the den at seven to eight weeks of age.