Summary ²

Northern raccoons, Procyon lotor, are found from Canada to Panama, as well as some parts of Europe (1). They occupy the majority of the United States and are one of California’s native species. With their stocky build and human-like paws, northern raccoons can be distinguished by their mask-like black fur on their face and bushy tail marked with four to ten black rings. Their fur, which is shed during the summer, ranges from dark gray to black. On average, northern raccoons are 0.78–0.93 m (2.5–3.1 ft) in length from head to tail and weigh 4–8 kg (9–18 lb) (2).

While they can live in a wide variety of habitats, including marshes, shrublands, forests, grasslands, and urban areas, raccoons tend to avoid extremely dry areas and are most abundant near bodies of water (1)(3). Mating occurs during late winter and family groups will remain together until early summer (2). As hunters and foragers, raccoons eat a wide range of plants, animals, and even edible scraps from human trash (3). Raccoons are generally nocturnal, but can be spotted during the early morning and close to dusk.

Coal Oil Point Reserve Facts ²

At Coal Oil Point Reserve, the northern raccoon occupies sand dune, estuary, rocky intertidal, grassland, coastal scrub, vernal pool, and woodland habitats. Raccoons are often seen at night on the reserve hunting or foraging.

Between 2014 and 2017, Dr. Sara Weinstein, a UC Santa Barbara parasitology graduate student, conducted research on northern raccoons at Coal Oil Point Reserve (4). About 80% of the raccoon populations in Santa Barbara county were found to carry a species of roundworm, Baylisascaris procyonis, that hatches in raccoon feces (5). This roundworm is known to cause lethal disease in humans and surrounding wildlife, while producing non-lethal neurological damage in host raccoons. Sara Weinstein’s research also investigated the role of roundworm transmission by other mammals found at the reserve, such as black rats, opossums, and skunks (6)(7).

References ²

1. Lotze, J., & Anderson, S. (1979). Procyon lotor. Mammalian Species, (119), 1-8.
2. Jameson, E. W., Jr., & Peeters, H. J. (2004). Mammals of California (Revised ed.). Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
3. Fire Effects Information System. (1995). Procyon lotor. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/animals/mammal/prlo/all.html
4. Weinstein, S. B. (2017). The Ecology and Transmission of the Raccoon Roundworm, Baylisascaris procyonis [Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Santa Barbara]. eScholarship, University of California.
5. Weinstein, S. B. (2016). Baylisascaris procyonis Demography and Egg Production in a California Raccoon Population. Journal of Parasitology, 102(6), 622-628.
6. Weinstein, S. B., Moura, C. W., Mendez, J. F., & Lafferty, K. D. (2018). Fear of feces? Tradeoffs between disease risk and foraging drive animal activity around raccoon latrines. Oikos, 127(7), 927–934.
7. Weinstein, S. B. (2017). Introduced Rats and an Endemic Roundworm: Does Rattus rattus Contribute to Baylisascaris procyonis Transmission in California? The Journal of Parasitology, 103(6), 677–682.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Paul Steeves, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Paul Steeves
2. (c) copr, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

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