Raccoon

The raccoon has gray to brown fur. It has a black mask around its eyes with white fur around the mask. It has a stripe that runs from its forehead to its nose and white fur around its nose. It has a bushy, ringed tail and black paws with five toes. The raccoon's paws look a little like human hands. The raccoon's toes are flexible and it is very good at grabbing, pulling things apart, and holding things. The raccoon is a very good climber and can go down a tree backwards or face first! The raccoon is one of only three species of the Procyonidae family found in the United States. The other species are the ringtail and the white-nosed coati. The raccoon is omnivorous and opportunistic. Common foods include fruits, nuts berries, insects, rodents, frogs, eggs and crayfish. In some rural areas, corn is a large part of the raccoon's diet. In suburban and urban areas, it often digs through trash cans for food. If water is near, the raccoon sometimes puts its food in the water and rolls it around. It looks like it is washing its food, but it is not. The raccoon is softening the food and looking for foreign objects on the food.