Raccoon Appearance Habitat and Behavior at Cen-Tex Wildlife Control
Ever wonder what makes raccoons so adaptable or why they keep showing up on your property? Centex Wildlife Removal covers raccoon appearance, habitat, diet, and nesting behaviors giving you the knowledge you need to protect your home and know when to call the professionals.
What Does a Raccoon Look Like?
A Complete Guide to Raccoon Appearance
Raccoons are small, stocky animals covered in thick gray fur with one of the most recognizable looks in the animal kingdom. Their most distinctive feature is the black mask-like markings around their eyes, giving them the classic appearance of a little bandit. If you've ever had one raid your trash can, is pretty fitting. Along their fluffy tails, you'll notice bold black rings that make them easy to identify even from a distance.
If you've ever watched a raccoon walk, you may have noticed they appear slightly hunched. This is because their back legs are longer than their front legs, giving them a unique, lumbering gait that is hard to mistake for any other animal. Despite their awkward walk, raccoons are surprisingly agile climbers and incredibly quick when they need to be.
Up close, raccoons have small black eyes that seem to be always watching and calculating, short rounded ears, and a narrow snout tipped with a small black nose. Their front paws are remarkably dexterous, almost hand-like, which is what allows them to open containers, unlatch gates, and get into just about anything they set their mind to.
While they may look cute and harmless from a distance, raccoons are wild animals that can cause serious damage to your home and property. If you spot one in or around your home, it is always best to call a professional wildlife removal company rather than attempting to handle the situation on your own.
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What Makes Raccoons So Unique?
Cute, Clever & More Dangerous Than You Think
If you've ever crossed paths with a raccoon, you already know there is something a little different about them compared to other wild animals. The raccoon, sometimes spelled racoon, is a medium-sized mammal native to North America and the largest member of the procyonid family. They typically measure anywhere from 16 to 28 inches in body length and can weigh anywhere between 11 and 57 pounds, so while they may look small and fluffy, some of these animals are surprisingly hefty.
One of the things that makes raccoons so well suited for survival in almost any environment is their thick grayish coat, which is made up of dense underfur that keeps them warm and insulated even in cold weather. This is one of the reasons raccoons thrive in so many different climates and regions across North America.
But what really sets raccoons apart are two very distinctive features — their incredibly dexterous front paws and their signature facial mask. Their paws are almost hand-like in the way they function, allowing raccoons to open containers, unlatch gates, tear apart roofing materials, and manipulate objects with surprising precision. It is no wonder they have such an easy time getting into trash cans, attics, and just about anything else they set their sights on.
Perhaps most fascinating of all is just how intelligent raccoons actually are. Studies have shown that raccoons can remember the solution to tasks for up to three years. That level of problem-solving ability is part of what makes them such a persistent and adaptable nuisance for homeowners and businesses alike. If a raccoon finds a way into your home once, chances are it will remember exactly how to get back in.
Where Do Raccoons Live?
A Look at Raccoon Habitat and Behavior
Raccoons are incredibly adaptable creatures, and that adaptability is a big part of why they are found just about everywhere. At their core, raccoons prefer to live in woodland areas near water sources like streams, marshes, and rivers. Water is a big part of their lifestyle — much of their diet comes from aquatic invertebrates including clams, crayfish, turtles, and snails. Alongside their love of water-based food, raccoons also eat a wide variety of plant-based foods such as acorns, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and corn. In short, they are not picky eaters, which makes finding food relatively easy no matter where they end up.
What makes raccoons truly remarkable is how well they have adapted to life alongside humans. Urban areas, farms, and suburbs have become just as much of a home for raccoons as the woodland. They have learned to scavenge from garbage cans, raid gardens, and pick through crop fields with impressive efficiency. Where most wild animals struggle to survive in cities and neighborhoods, raccoons have figured out how to thrive.
In the wild, raccoons typically nest in tree cavities, rock crevices, underground burrows, and the abandoned dens of other animals such as muskrat lodges. However, in suburban areas, raccoons have learned to get a little more creative with their living arrangements. Unoccupied buildings, attics, garages, sheds, and chimneys have all become popular nesting spots for raccoons looking for a warm and safe place to settle in.
If you have noticed raccoons making themselves at home on your property, do not wait for the problem to get worse. The longer they stay, the more damage they can cause. Call Centex Wildlife Removal today and let our experts handle it safely and permanently.
