Creature Feature: Raccoon (Procyon lotor) By Emma Dean, CG
Science Staff Raccoons are creatures without an urban or rural
preference. These nocturnal animals, with their signature black
masks and unmistakable ringed tails, will live most anywhere as
long as a water source is easily accessible. Raccoons can be
found all over North America and Ohio is no exception. In fact,
they are present in all 88 counties of Ohio. Early Ohio settlers
hunted raccoons for both food and pelts. Raccoons are still
trapped today for their fur, but to a much lesser extent, which
has caused the population to explode. The decrease in hunting
has also dampened the popularity of the coonskin hat which
settlers such as Daniel Boone were famous for sporting. Raccoon
fur was once so important that the sale of pelts that, in 1804,
Athens County helped to purchase books for the start of the
Western Library Association which would later be known as The
Coonskin Library. - The diet of a raccoon is omnivorous in
nature and includes fruits, nu