Raccoons are mammals that have a white face with a distinctive black mask across it. Their overall coat is brown to black and mixed with a light yellowish brown. They have a bushy cylinder shaped tail with bands of light brown and black rings. They can weigh up to nearly 50 pounds and can be as close to 40 inches long.
Coons live in wooded area primarily abundant in hardwood forests. They can live in an area as small as 12 acres to as large as 740 acres. In the warm months they are active near sunset and their activity peaks close to midnight. They have acute hearing and sensitive forepaws that make being a nocturnal hunter easier for them. Their eyes have a highly developed tapetum lucidum that aids in night vision and makes their eyes appear as though they glow in the dark.
They usually make their dens alone in hollow trees but they will occasionally make their homes in a rock crevices, woodchuck burrows, or abandoned buildings. They do not hibernate.
Raccoons are not picky eaters. Coons will eat anything from berries, acorns, and insects, to fish, rodents, and reptiles.
Coons average life span is approximately 2-3 years however few can survive up to 13 years. They have tasty meat and marketable fur and many die from the hunters and trappers as well as crossing highways.
Raccoons pose a threat to the public because they carry canine distemper and rabies as well as get into household trash and dumpsters and can occupy your home leaving droppings and will chew and destroy the attic of your home or business.
Pest Control, Extermination and Wildlife Management serving the Traverse City and Northern Michigan Area
10283 Elk Lake Road Williamsburg, MI 49690
Call us at 231-264-6060 or 800-264-6161
