Raccoons

Raccoon – the animal is extremely funny. At the beginning of the 20th century the zoologist Alfred Breh described these curious animals as follows: “The raccoon is somewhat like a monkey in the mental fold: it is also merry, alive, bold on occasion, and when hunting for prey it is cunning, like a fox, it eats everything, from plants to Fish and crabs, which he catches from the water. He also likes to carry domestic chickens. ”

Raccoons are predators (the raccoon family). The most famous and widespread species is the raccoon strip. The weight and size of a raccoon is akin to a small barrel: the body reaches up to 65 cm in length, weight – up to 10 kg. Typically, the female is inferior to the male in size. The teeth of the raccoon are many (from 31 to 46), their length reaches several centimeters. Raccoon omnivorous, he eagerly eats berries, worms, insects, frogs, small rodents. Because of their gluttony, many raccoons live near a person in search of scraps in landfills and garbage dumps. It is not uncommon for cases when in search of food arrogant raccoons make their way not only to yards, but also to the houses themselves.

Homeland raccoons – North and Central America. In the early 20th century, because of the valuable fur, these animals began to breed on other continents. Today raccoon raccoons live in some European countries and in the European part of Russia. The lifespan of raccoons in the natural environment is up to 10 years, tamed raccoons longer – up to 15 years. Read more about house raccoons.

Do you know:

  • Raccoons perfectly climb trees, including horizontal branches (like monkeys or sloths). Movable feet of the hind legs can rotate almost 180 degrees.
  • In case of danger, raccoons pretend to be dead.
  • The paws of the raccoon are akin to human hands – with thin fingers. The chain fingers of the raccoon easily grab all sorts of objects.
  • Male raccoons early separated from the mother and, as a rule, live separately. Meeting with a relative in the forest often does not please the animal. Usually, after briefly snorting at each other raccoons diverge, not leading the situation to a fight. However, in places where there is enough food (for example, a dump near a restaurant), raccoons do not conflict.
  • Try to tear the raccoon off the ground and it quickly kusit you (for example, lift). And if he does not eat, he will fend off and snort.

Because of the external similarity of these animals are often confused, despite the fact that in the classification of animals they belong to different families. The raccoon dog refers to the dog, the raccoon to the raccoon dog. Raccoons because of their pretty appearance earned a cheerful reputation and became the object of numerous funny pictures with signatures. Raccoon dog opposite has not the most positive image – in Japanese mythology it is a werewolf dog.