Well, who does not know raccoons, so to speak, “in person”? Each of us will immediately present a tricky muzzle with a black “Zorro mask”, small claw-paws with tenacious fingers, similar to human ones, a thick fluffy tail with black and white stripes and a funny puffy butt sticking out while a raccoon stubbornly tries to climb into which -never a narrow hole (as a rule, to steal something "for lunch").
Recently, many have been trying to get these naughty puffers at home, because they are so cute. (What this often leads to, we will talk a little later).
Do you want to know more about them? Then here are 10 interesting facts about raccoons:
10. Raccoon Homeland - North America
In fact, once raccoons were found only in North and Central America. And they are a great example of the fact that a person is not only the cause of the extinction of any animal species, but quite the opposite: raccoons "moved" to other continents thanks to our voluntary or involuntary help.
Often they came to Europe, secretly climbing onto a ship, but more often, of course, sailors and merchants brought these funny and very smart animals quite intentionally.
Now they live in a variety of places - from the tropics to very “cool” latitudes (for example, in Russia in Russia they “preferred” the Caucasus and the Far East for living).
Nowadays, raccoons quite often choose forests and parks in the suburbs for living. Why? Yes, because here you can get a lot more food (and quite easily and simply - there is trash). For example, in Canadian Toronto, a huge number of "urban" raccoons live.
9. Raccoons love to live in holes, but they themselves do not know how to dig them.
Either raccoons really do not know how to dig holes for themselves, or they are just too lazy to do it, but at any opportunity they are happy to occupy someone else's “real estate”: an abandoned badger hole, a convenient dry hollow, a spacious crevice in the rock, which is covered from all sides and etc.
And, by the way, the raccoon prefers to have several such shelters (of course, in case of danger), but he still likes to sleep in the same main thing.
And always somewhere near the "estate" of the raccoon there should be water - a stream, a pond, a lake (otherwise, where will he rinse the food?).
In their burrows or hollows, raccoons quietly sleep all day (after all, they are, in fact, nocturnal animals), and late in the evening they go fishing.
In the shelters, they wait for both cold and snowfall (and raccoon stripes living in the northern latitudes hibernate for 3-4 months), sometimes cramming into the hollow with whole "companies" of 10-14 individuals at a time, and it's warmer, and more fun.
8. Raccoons are immune to most infectious diseases.
Yes, this is so - raccoons themselves do not suffer from contagious diseases. But, unfortunately, like many other wild animals, they can still be their carriers.
For example, there were cases when raccoons infected rabies with domestic dogs trying to drive these striped insoles from their territory. One bite in a short fight - and, alas, “goodbye, doggie”.
Therefore, when you meet a raccoon-cute raccoon in the yard, do not rush to stroke it or, moreover, squeeze it and pick it up.
7. Raccoon females are the most caring mothers
Male raccoons are not involved in offspring, from the word "completely." Immediately after mating, the raccoon leaves the female and goes in search of "another love." Well, the female, having taken out from 2 to 7 babies within 63 days, gives birth to them, most often, at the beginning of summer and starts “raising” herself (having previously dispersed all the raccoon relatives).
Little raccoons are born blind and deaf and weigh only 75 grams (hearing and eyesight appear only at 3 weeks of age), therefore, of course, they require considerable care. Raccoon mom feeds them up to 24 times a day. And for an emergency, she has prepared up to 12 emergency shelters.
Raccoons communicate with their mom using whistles or quite piercing screams (the volume and tonality of these sounds depends on what they want - food and warmth or affection). She answers them with rumbling and grunts.
By two months old, the cubs are already completely overgrown with fur and become quite independent, and from 4-5 months they are considered adults. If the young raccoon managed to survive his first winter, then he will survive further.
6. Raccoons are able to descend upside down and jump from a height of 8-12 meters
All raccoons are excellent climbers. They climb perfectly both on trees and on poles, walls, etc. (In the USA and Canada, there are frequent cases when they climb into the windows of multi-story buildings).
Very dexterous fingers and sharp claws allow raccoons to cling to the slightest protrusions and roughness. In addition, the feet on their hind legs are also very mobile (they can rotate 180º), which allows these nimble puffs to do various acrobatic tricks, including, quickly go down the tree trunk or along the wall upside down, climb thin branches or over tensioned cables and ropes, etc.
Well, in case of special need, raccoons are able to squander from a height of 10-12 meters and, without harming themselves, hide in the nearest bushes (even cats nervously smoke on the sidelines).
5. Raccoons can move quickly even in total darkness
As we said above, raccoons are mainly nocturnal creatures. Moreover, they are able to rush in complete darkness at a speed of up to 25 km / h and arrange real group night “brawls”, rumbling with garbage cans and trying to get food suspended high above the ground.
And it helps them not only (and not so much) with special vision and excellent sense of smell, but also special sensitive receptors located on the stomach, chest, and especially on the paws. They allow raccoons to identify (and with great accuracy!) Almost any objects they encounter on their way.
That is, in fact, they don’t even have to look under their feet, raccoons can run “to the touch”. By the way, these same receptors work best in water, which is why puffers love to “wash” everything.
4. Raccoon paws - a universal tool for survival
The North American Indians, who noticed that the raccoon's legs are very similar to human hands, have an old legend that once the raccoon was indeed a man - cunning, unprincipled, dodgy and thieving.
Once he “got” with his behavior even the Supreme Spirit, and he turned a thief into an animal, leaving only his hands in memory of his human past.
And with these “hands” the raccoon is able not only to grab and hold pieces of food, fish, dig up crustaceans and snails in the silt, masterfully hold on almost any vertical surfaces, etc., but also easily open the lids of containers, turn door handles and open heck, untie the bags, turn the taps with water and do many other “useful” things.
And, as we have already said, the receptors located on the raccoon's paws have the greatest sensitivity in water, so the raccoon checks whether the item he found is really edible by rinsing it in the nearest puddle (even if you found it in it).
3. Raccoons have a very high IQ
Yes, raccoons are actually great clever women - they are much smarter than cats, and their IQ is slightly lower than that of monkeys. In principle, the fact that these cute puffies are far from being fools is even indicated by their ability to “master” a variety of objects in human dwells listed just above.
Not only that, raccoons are able to not only find ways to get what they liked, sometimes even using some improvised (“fake”) objects, but also remember how they did it, so that later on they can repeat the trick again!
In nature, raccoons also behave quite wisely (well, unless, of course, if you do not consider their habit of sticking your curious nose everywhere and everywhere is not reasonable enough).
In case of danger, they try to quickly leave the suspicious place. And if this does not succeed, then the raccoon gets into a fight, trying to scare the enemy right away, or uses some other trick (for example, pretends to want to run away in one direction, and then immediately throws himself in the other and hides under the snag) . Well, if this does not work, then the raccoon falls to the ground and pretends to be dead.
2. Raccoons are omnivorous
Especially vividly “ingenuity” of raccoons is manifested when searching for food (and they are, in fact, busy literally from evening to morning).
Raccoons are considered predators, but in fact they eat everything in a row. In spring and early summer, these fat-assed robbers prefer a "meat ration" (well, simply because the most delicious fruits and berries are not ripe yet, and you want to eat every day): they catch small animals — frogs, lizards, crayfish, etc. ., do not disdain bugs and snakes, can eat bird eggs or even chicks.
Well, at the end of summer - the beginning of autumn, raccoons "go into vegetarianism": they eat nuts, berries, vegetables, fruits (and often in the most arrogant way they "enclose" vineyards and private orchards exactly before the harvest).
Neither high fences, nor nets and gratings, nor glass or plastic stop them. If a raccoon decided to get something and eat, then he will do it, so be sure! Domestic raccoons easily pop pasta and popcorn (and they like to attach to a bottle of beer, right down to the "cut").
1. Home raccoons arrange complete chaos in the house
If you nevertheless decided to get a raccoon miles at home, then be ready - in a couple of weeks you will most likely want to go to hell, leaving your property in a striped “lodger” in a mask.
For a raccoon cannot be forbidden, he does everything he wants. And since his curiosity is unlimited, he will open, unwind and gut everything that he can reach (and yet he can, believe me).
The raccoon will look into all the cabinets and nightstands, check the refrigerator (do not hesitate to open it!), And will also constantly run into the bathtub or the kitchen to open the water and rinse your things, fruits and berries, bread, your cell phone, grandmothers for hours glasses, a doll of a younger sister, - yes, everything that he finds in the apartment and can be taken away. And before you “wash” things that are curious for him, the raccoon will also definitely try them on the tooth.
He will hang out on the curtains, suddenly poke you from the closet, climb up at night to you under the covers and gently (but very unexpectedly) hug, etc., etc.
Yeah ... If animals could be put in jail, then 90% of the cells would be packed with raccoons - for petty hooliganism. So first think a hundred times whether you can endure this neighborhood.