![]() ![]() In the first decades after its discovery by the members of the expedition of Christopher Columbus, who were the first Europeans to leave a written record about the species, taxonomists thought the raccoon was related to many different species, including dogs, cats, badgers and particularly bears. Dogs bred to hunt raccoons are called coonhound and coon dog. Soon after that the term became an ethnic slur, especially in use between 18 (see coon song), and the term is still considered offensive. In the 1830s, the United States Whig Party used the raccoon as an emblem, causing them to be pejoratively known as "coons" by their political opponents, who saw them as too sympathetic to African-Americans. The colloquial abbreviation coon is used in words like coonskin for fur clothing and in phrases like old coon as a self-designation of trappers. In Mexican Spanish, the raccoon is called mapache, derived from the Nahuatl mapachtli of the Aztecs, meaning ' one who takes everything in its hands'. It has also been identified as a reflex of a Proto-Algonquian root * ahrah-koon-em, meaning ' one who rubs, scrubs and scratches with its hands'. It was recorded on John Smith's list of Powhatan words as aroughcun, and on that of William Strachey as arathkone. Its Latin name means 'before-dog washer'. ![]() Names for the species include the common raccoon, North American raccoon, and northern raccoon, The word raccoon was adopted into English from the native Powhatan term meaning 'animal that scratches with its hands', as used in the Colony of Virginia. The mask of a raccoon is often interrupted by a brown-black streak that extends from forehead to nose. In many areas, hunting and vehicular injury are the two most common causes of death. Although captive raccoons have been known to live over 20 years, their life expectancy in the wild is only 1.8 to 3.1 years. The kits are subsequently raised by their mother until dispersal in late fall. After a gestation period of about 65 days, two to five young known as "kits" are born in spring. Home range sizes vary anywhere from 3 ha (7.4 acres) for females in cities, to 5,000 ha (12,000 acres) for males in prairies. Related females often share a common area, while unrelated males live together in groups of up to four raccoons in order to maintain their positions against foreign males during the mating season and against other potential invaders. Though previously thought to be generally solitary, there is now evidence that raccoons engage in sex-specific social behavior. This implies that this species cannot be imported, bred, transported, commercialized, or intentionally released into the environment in the whole of the European Union. In Europe, the raccoon is included since 2016 in the list of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern (the Union list). As a result of escapes and deliberate introductions in the mid-20th century, raccoons are now also distributed across central Europe, the Caucasus, and Japan. The original habitats of the raccoon are deciduous and mixed forests, but due to their adaptability, they have extended their range to mountainous areas, coastal marshes, and urban areas, where some homeowners consider them to be pests. It is usually nocturnal and omnivorous, eating about 40% invertebrates, 33% plants, and 27% vertebrates. The raccoon is noted for its intelligence, as studies show that it is able to remember the solution to tasks for at least three years. Three of the raccoon's most distinctive features are its extremely dexterous front paws, its facial mask, and its ringed tail, which are themes in the mythologies of the indigenous peoples of the Americas relating to the animal. Its grayish coat mostly consists of dense underfur, which insulates it against cold weather. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of 40 to 70 cm (16 to 28 in), and a body weight of 5 to 26 kg (11 to 57 lb). The raccoon ( / r ə ˈ k uː n/ or US: / r æ ˈ k uː n/ ( listen), Procyon lotor), also spelled racoon and sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. Native range in red, introduced range in blue
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