Raccoons

Raccoons are not particular about den sites and some of them use tree hollows, hollow logs, caves,rock crevices, holes in the ground, and sometimes storm sewers. The most common disease in raccoons is canine distemper. Breeding by adult females is normally constant from year to year, while breeding by the younger ones can be different. Raccoons use rock dens most often during winter, probably because rock dens offer warm, stable temperatures, are secure, and are large enough for communal denning.

The major causes of mortality for raccoons in the Midwest are fur harvest, getting run over by a vehical, and diseases.

In the wild, raccoons are found along streams and lakes near wooded areas. The youngers ones' breeding rates are suppose to reflect the severity of the previous winter and the overall health of the population. To learn all of this new information is relatively interresting and allows me to understand why Sassy, my raccoon, was the way she was. When I was a younger I had a raccoon as a pet. After reading this article I don't think that I would have anoter raccoon as a pet, because I took her away from her natural environment and natural instincts.

Believe it or not, I absolutely loved this article.