Sy 
mon in the river bottoms in the southern part of the state, and it is 
more than likely that they sometimes followed up the rivers to the 
borders of this county. They are probably extinct now in Illinois. 
RACCOON; COON. 
Procyon lotor (Linnzeus). 
Ursus lotor Linn., Syst. Nat., I., 1758, p. 48. 
The common raccoon, under various forms, is found throughout 
the United States and Mexico, and north into southern Canada. 
It occurs throughout Illinois, and is not rare in this county. 
Raccoons haunt wooded bluffs and the timbered flood-plains, 
and are seldom found far from them. They may make raids into 
corn fields and chicken-houses at some distance during the night, 
but they spend the daytime in some big hollow tree in the woods, 
and when pursued always seek shelter in a tree. They have been 
known in severe winter weather to live around haystacks and out- 
houses, but this is very unusual. 
The raccoon is an omnivorous carnivore, as the rat is an omniv- 
orous rodent, and its food, like the rat’s, varies with the time and 
place, being largely a matter of what it can get. It is fond of berries 
and other fruits, and will eat most garden vegetables, though it 
prefers those that have a sweetish flavor. Its liking for young corn 
is well known. It eats crayfish, and has been accused of catching 
minnows and trout. It is exceedingly fond of eggs, as well as of 
birds and poultry, if it can get them. It also eats, with apparent 
relish, grubs and various insects which it picks out of holes and 
crevices, and it is said to kill and eat small mammals at times. The 
specific name lotor—meaning washer—was applied to the coon 
because of its well-known habit of washing its food before eating it. 
The instinct is a curious one,and I know of no satisfactory explana- 
tion of it. The animal is very fond of paddling in the water, and a 
pair of tame raccoons kept by Godman would indulge in this sport 
even in the coldest weather, when the ice had to be broken in order 
to let them get to the water. 
In this latitude the raccoon breeds in March or April, but the 
breeding season is a month laterin the Northwest Territories of 
Canada. The usual litter contains from four to seven young. 
