134 MAMMALS OF UTAH 



back, strongly yellow on nape and on tail, and a paler gray 

 on the belly and feet; on all the upper parts, especially 

 along the spine, the long hairs are black-tipped, and on' the 

 under parts, they are white-tipped. On the cheek is a black 

 patch that includes the eye, and joins with the narrow 

 blackish stripe that runs from the nose to the dark color 

 on the forehead. Around this the face is dull white, whit- 

 est in a band above each eye; the lower back part of the 

 ear is black, which joins with a black patch on the neck 

 behind the ear — the tip of the ear behind is whitish. The 

 tail, beginning with the tip, has six to seven rings of very 

 dark brown or black on a pale yellowish background. The 

 under fur is dark brownish gray and shows much on the 

 under parts; the throat also is dark brownish gray; the 

 eyes are dark; the whiskers white. The sexes are alike. 

 Mexicanus is a large, pale gray race with long tail. (Seton.) 



Distribution — This racoon ranges northward from the 

 Gulf of Mexico through New Mexico, the eastern half of 

 Arizona and into Utah. A few racoons are known to in- 

 habit the swamps, fields and streams near St. George, Utah. 

 According to Clinton Milne many are trapped there each 

 year, their pelts bringing an average of $1.75 each. He 

 states that they are very fond of grapes, which are ex- 

 tensively grown in that vicinity. Gerald Thorne of Logan 

 informs me that Peter Miller of Linwood, Utah, trapped a 

 racoon on the bank of Henry's Fork just below the Wyoming 

 line. Mr. Thorne had the skin in his possession just after 

 it was taken in the autumn of 1912. S. B. Locke reports 

 that racoons appear occasionally along the streams of south- 

 eastern Utah. 



Habits — They everywhere seek the wooded shores of 

 streams and lakes and the bordering lowland forests, and 

 are expert climbers, commonly having their dens in hollow 

 trees, often in cavities high above the ground. In such 

 retreats they have annually from four to six young, which 

 continue to frequent this retreat until well grown, thus 

 accounting for the numbers often seen in the same cavity. 

 Their diet is extraordinarily varied, and includes fresh 

 water clams, crayfish, frogs, birds and their eggs, poultry, 

 nuts, fruits, and green corn. When near water they have 

 a curious and unique habit of washing their food before 

 eating it. They make good pets. (Nelson.) 



Racoon skins bring the trapper from 25 cents to $9.00 

 each at St. Louis. 



