With late season hunting opportunities still in season, I decided that this week I’d talk about the raccoon. This masked critter has a reputation of raiding garbage cans and farmers’ gardens. They were an important source of fur and even food during the pre-settlement days.
Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett were always portrayed wearing a coonskin cap. Both of these early frontiersmen lived in the 1700’s. Crockett was from east Tennessee and Boone was most famous for his early exploration and settlement of Kentucky. One can’t help but think what life was like back then and I’m sure the early settlers here in West Virginia looked the same. Heck the WVU mountaineer mascot wears a coonskin cap.
Raccoon populations were thought to be at their highest during this early pre-settlement time period. They are common here in West Virginia but their populations may fluctuate due to severe weather and lack of food, as well as hunting and trapping pressure. In high populations outbreaks of distemper and rabies can occur.
The most notable characteristic of the raccoon is its black mask that covers the face and eyes as well as their 5 to 7 black rings on the tail. They are 20-30 inches long and weigh anywhere between 10 to 35 pounds with males larger than females. Raccoons can be found from Canada all the way down to Central America.
Raccoon habitat can vary as they tend to congregate wherever the best food sources are available. Lake shores, creek bottoms, marshes, farmland, and even suburban and urban areas where food can be found are places raccoons call home. They are omnivores, meaning they eat both plants and animals.
Food sources consist of fruits like wild grapes, apples, persimmons as well as acorns, grasses, fish, frogs, crayfish, carrion, eggs along with whatever corn and other vegetables they come across. They can become a nuisance when they start raiding farmers’ crops and neighborhood trashcans. Their sense of smell, sight, and hearing are good and they have an acute sense of touch.
Raccoons have sensitive and limber fingers that allow them to catch slippery prey like fish, frogs, and crayfish. They are good swimmers and like to be around water. They will even wash their food off if water is nearby giving them the name “wash-bears”.
These masked critters are also good tree climbers and it’s not unusual for them to spend the day in a treetop. They will even sun themselves by stretching out on a stout limb. Raccoons are nocturnal meaning they hunt and move at night. If they aren’t in a treetop during the day they can be found in den sites such as a hollow tree, rock crevices, old groundhog holes, or even under brushpiles.
Home ranges are usually 1 mile in diameter depending on how much food is available. Raccoons are vocal critters and make a variety of sounds. They can scream, squeal, chirp, and they’ll even purr when they’re content and whimper when they’re unhappy.
Raccoons feed up during the fall putting on fat reserves. Although they don’t hibernate, they stick close to their dens during early winter. Starting in January they’ll emerge when temperatures rise above freezing as it’s the start of mating season. Breeding takes place from January through March.
Females will breed at the age of 1 and males become sexually mature at 2 years of age. Pregnancy lasts 2 months and litters range from 3 to 5 young uns. The young will follow the female starting at one month and will be able to fend for themselves at the ripe ole age of 4 months. They sometimes will stay and den the following winter with the mother but once spring comes they will venture out on their own.
Raccoons have been known to live up to 18 years and have a relatively long life span in the wild of 10 years. They have long been trapped and hunted for their fur. Coon hunting with hounds is a popular way to hunt these animals. Blueticks, Walkers, Black & Tans, Redbones, and Plotts are some of the different breeds of hounds that are usually used to chase raccoons.
These hounds will come across a scent trail and follow it to the raccoon where the chase begins. Since raccoons are nocturnal hunting takes place at night. The hounds will pursue the raccoons until they run up a tree. Once the coon is “tree’d”, the hounds start barking rapidly letting the hunters know that the chase has halted.
It’s always neat walking through the woods at night as I’ve been coon hunting a couple times with hounds. Many times it’s dead calm with a moonlit sky. Usually the owls screeching are the only thing that is heard until the hounds cut loose when they find a fresh track. Oftentimes there’s walking involved which is always good exercise to me.
A good flashlight is a must as it’s needed to spot the raccoon in the tree once you arrive to the barking hounds. It’s up to the hunter to decide whether or not to take the raccoon but many times serious houndsmen will pull the dogs off and find another raccoon to chase.
Raccoons have been around here for a long time and are another prime example of the neat and unique wildlife found in West Virginia. I’ve had several interesting encounters with the masked critters over the years. They offer late season hunting and trapping opportunities until February 28.