8 NORTH A:MEIUCAX fauna 60, FLSH ^VND WILDLIFE SEKMCE 



the slioros of streams, lakers, and brackish la^joons, and even alon^ the 

 sea coasts, as in the Florida Keys and other ishmds. In such phices, 

 frogs, small fishes, crayfish, crabs, clams, oysters, insects, small 

 mammals, reptiles, and other animal foods are sought, as shown by 

 the characteristic telltale f()()t|)rints revealing the course of nocturnal 

 wanderings and by stomach examinations. 



As water recedes to lower levels and pools become detached, fish, 

 of which raccoons are very fond, are more readily captured by them. 

 Referring to some water holes near Lake Drummond, Dismal Swamp. 

 Va., in October 1895, A. K. Fisher reported: "Judging from the 

 tracks about these pools, as many as a dozen must have come every 

 night to feed on the fish imprisoned therein. The heads of catfish, 

 pike, eels, and perch were found in abundance under the bushes and 

 along the edges where the raccoons had dropped them." According 

 to Mary J. Rathbun (1918, p. 401), the fiddler crab {Uca pugilator) 

 is the main food of the raccoon on the bay shores next to the Gulf 

 in Texas. Yoimg birds and eggs in the nest are often taken, and 

 departing from the usual aquatic habitat, the raccoons occasionally 

 make raids on the farmer's poultry. 



A complete list of the miscellaneous items composing the diet of 

 raccoons woidd be exceedingly long and would vary in accordance 

 with the season and with local conditions. On Key Largo, Fla., 

 E. W. Nelson found the raccoons feeding extensively on the ripening 

 fruit of the marlberry (Icacorea paniculata) in March. The taking 

 of dry berries may be resorted to when more acceptable food supplies 

 are insufficient. Examination of stomach contents has revealed the 

 hard seeds of the hackberry and juniper berries in Texas raccoons and 

 Vernon Bailey found these animals feeding upon manzanita (Arcto- 

 stajjhylos) berries in California. The eating of grasshoppers has been 

 reported in Texas. 



Although raccoons enter the water freely, much time is spent in 

 patrolling the muddy shores. Closely crowded tracks, suggesting the 

 imprints of human baby hands and feet, often mark the Hnes of least 

 resistance up and down the banks of streams or through swamps, and 

 well worn trails are gradually formed, disappearing in places at the 

 edge of the water where it was necessary for the animals to wade or 

 swim, and reappearing again on the farther side. In addition to 

 water, trees, especially hollow ones aft'ording shelter, are almost indis- 

 pensable for the well-being of most raccoons. There seems to be evi- 

 dence that the clearing of timber, especialty the cutting of the large 

 shelter trees needed for refuge and hibernation, has been an important 

 factor in reducing the numbers of these animals in the northern part 

 of their range. In the warmer southern territory, where hibernation 

 does not occur, shelter trees are evidently not so essential. Mangrove 



