94 Order CARNIVORA 



nearly everyone. It is most abundant in wooded river bottoms, 

 fig. 3, and less abundant in wooded uplands. Watercourses with- 

 out tree cover usually provide less desirable habitat, as do 

 marshes and strip-mine ponds. Raccoons have always been mod- 

 erately common in Illinois and at one time were apparently so 

 numerous along the Kaskaskia River that the Indians are said to 

 have used their word for the animal as their name for the river. 



The raccoon usually selects for its home or den a dry cavity 

 in a tree, fig. 1. It seems to have no preference for any particu- 

 lar species of tree so long as the cavity in the tree is large enough 

 and is dry. The raccoon may also use for its den a dry crev- 

 ice in a cliff, the deserted burrow of a fox or woodchuck, or even 

 the lodge of a muskrat. It may also substitute quite satisfac- 

 torily a man-made den (a box with an opening near the top) 

 nailed to the trunk of a tree. During the daytime, the coon 

 sleeps in its den, and during the most severe parts of winter 

 may remain there in a dormant state for several days. How- 

 ever, it does not truly hibernate as does the ground squirrel or 

 the woodchuck, for it may awaken in a few moments; these 

 other animals may require hours to arouse themselves fully. 



At night the raccoon wanders in search of food in woods, 

 fields, and particularly along streams or other bodies of water. 

 It feeds on a great variety of plants and animals and is an op- 

 portunist in that it makes use of any suitable food that is at 

 hand. In the fall, its diet may consist of three-fourths vegetable 

 matter and one-fourth animal matter. In the spring and sum- 

 mer, the greater part of the diet is likely to be animal matter. 

 Important plants in the diet are persimmons, pecans, acorns, 

 grapes, pokeweed berries, other fruit, and corn, particularly 

 corn in the milk stage. Important animals in the diet are insects 

 and crayfish, and to a lesser extent snails, earthworms, birds, 

 fish, snakes, and small mammals. When crippled waterfowl be- 

 come readily available, as during and following the hunting 

 season, the coon feeds heavily on these incapacitated birds. The 

 coon hunts skillfully in water and is adept at digging and climb- 

 ing. In the use of its hands and in its curiosity, it has a human- 

 like quality. 



Breeding occurs in late January to early March, and the 

 young, normally three or four to a litter, are born usually in 

 March or April. At 30 days they occasionally leave the nest, and 

 at about 60 days they forage with their mother. 



