Forcing male offspring to leave the maternal territory fosters genetic diversity. The males however, are encouraged to strike out on their own. If food is plentiful, mom may allow sisters or daughters to remain nearby or share a den. Raccoons are the ultimate “single mothers”, not only do the males not contribute to rearing young they are actively driven away from den sites and food sources. Kits hate to be separated and almost always explore in twos or threes. They will venture out on their own for short periods of time, but always return to “touch base”. Raccoons stay with their mothers for almost a year. By 10 to 12 weeks, the kits are following mom out to forage and making lots of noise romping and stomping. Therefore, daytime sightings of otherwise healthy looking raccoons is not cause for alarm.Īt 5 to 6 weeks, the kits will belly crawl to explore near the den and call for mom if hungry or anxious. Raccoons will shift feeding patterns to when food is available frequently appearing during the day to exploit aquatic food exposed during low tides or cat food that’s only set out in the morning. This is especially true of babies that are old enough to get into trouble, but not old enough to be on their own. They are easily intrigued and will investigate new or interesting activities. The word “raccoon” is derived from the Algonquian word aroughcoune, “he who scratches with his hands.” Lotor translates from Latin as “washer” or “he who washes”. Originally, it was thought that the raccoon was distantly related to dogs and bears, but recent evidence suggest they may be more closely related to the red panda. Procyon translates from Latin as “before the dog” or “the lesser dog” and refers to the evolutionary history of the animal. Northern or Common Raccoons are classified taxonomically as Procyon Lotor (family/genus). The problem is that God gave them too much dexterity to go with their superior brainpower and insatiable curiosity. As my Dad would say they are “too smart by half”. ![]() ![]() They are just “too” – too cute, too curious, too brave, too strong, too aggressive, too smart, too adaptable, too devious, too agile … well, you get the picture.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |