S8 Department of Conservation of Louisiana 



The raccoon is a thickly built animal with a coat of long, 

 rather coarse, greyish-brown hairs, black at the tips, under- 

 lain by a fine fur characterized by its length, softness and 

 thickness ; it has short ears, and a bushy black-and-white 

 ringed tail. In length it averages 32 inches. The raccoon 

 possesses a long, pointed snout, and a white face with a 

 characteristic black area on each cheek surrounding the eye. 



While found in its most plentiful numbers in the South- 

 ern States, the raccoon has an extensive range, being found 

 as far north as Ontario and as far south as Louisiana and 

 Florida. A considerable number are trapped every year 

 in the Pacific Coast states of California, Washington and 

 Oregon, but it does not inhabit the Rocky Mountain region. 



The raccoon provides man with one of the most practical 

 and serviceable furs, which is used today extensively in the 

 manufacture of ccats for both women and men. It is a 

 splendid wearing fur and very warm and comfortable. With 

 the advent of the automobile and the call for a fur garment 

 that would stand hard outdoor usage, the raccoon pelt has 

 proved itself ideal. 



For many years Missouri was one of the principal 'coon 

 producing centers of the United States, but with the re- 

 claiming of the swamp lands in the New Madrid section, 

 the animal disappeared or sought new habitats. Arkansas 

 has long been an important producer of this fur animal, 

 but Louisiana is the largest 'coon producing state of the 

 Union. 



In the early days of the fur trade of the Mississippi 

 Valley, raccoon skins were a recognized circulating medium 

 in the Valley states, just as beaver pelts were used as cur- 

 rency in the northern states and Canada, 



So strange was this animal to the first French settlers 

 of Louisiana that they called it a Chat sauvage, and Cat 

 Island, off the Mississippi coast, gained its name because 

 of the strange "cats" Iberville's pioneers found inhabiting 

 the place. 



