Raccoon
Procyon lotor
Loki has been causing mischief at The New Children’s Museum since October 7th 2009. At the age of 17 months he was relocated from Wildlife Encounters Zoo in Rochester New York to The Wildlife Sanctuary in West Hartford, Connecticut. In his time here he has proven to be quite tricky and resourceful. Being an adept climber, whenever animal caretakers would attempt to enter his cage to clean and feed him he would climb right up the cage and either steal the lock, the keys or both and run back into his den and hide them. He’s also taken up the habit of ‘reshingling’ his roof by ripping off the singles on top of his enclosure (unfortunately as of yet he has not mastered the skill of putting on new shingles). As troublesome as he can be, everyone always enjoys watching him eat his grapes, which are his favorites, and chatter away when he finds a new toy.
10 Fun Facts About Raccoons
- Raccoons are typically nocturnal in nature meaning they are most active at night.
- Being quite resourceful animals raccoons have become quite urbanized, often rummaging through dumpsters in search of food.
- During particularly cold winters they can enter a temporary hibernation period where they hunker down in a cave or tree hollow and rest until the bitter cold passes.
- They are very handsy animals and will often play with their food before eating it.
- Ponds and streams are one of the primary places for them to hunt for their favorite prey– crayfish.
- Omnivorous in nature, raccoons will forage on an array of fruits and berries as well as snack on any smaller animal that happens to cross their path.
- Raccoons are one of the species that can contract the diseases rabies, which is why they are not permitted as pets.
- Litters typically consist of 2 to 5 baby raccoons.
- Once weaned and on their own litter mates will often stay together for the first couple of weeks, working together to find food.
- In the wild the life expectancy ranges from 1 to 3 years, whereas in captivity they can live to be 20 years old.
