Raccoon

Raccoons are naturally curious.  They have dexterous hands with 5 digits on each foot.  Raccoons have excellent night vision and tend to be more active at night.  However, they will forage for food any time of day as necessary.  Their diet includes fruits and nuts, insects and aquatic invertebrates, fish, small rodents, frogs, bird eggs, carrion and human garbage.

Raccoons have their cubs in fall.  The cubs remain with their mother for about 1 year.  Males do not help raise the young.

Interesting facts:

• The name “raccoon” came from an Algonquian Indian word arakun, which means “he scratches with his hands.” During the 1700s, American colonists dropped the “a” in arakun, and the name became raccoon.
• Raccoons clean their food with water, or if none is nearby via rubbing it, before eating.
• A group of raccoons is called a nursery.