When they’re not busy rummaging through your trash, raccoons are actually quite complex and fascinating creatures. Raccoons rely on water sources, so they must live within several hundred years of a water source, like a stream or a pond. They are nocturnal for the most part and eat almost any food. As far as prey goes, raccoons often catch smaller creatures like mice, insects, and fish. They can catch fish and turtles with their hands, which have separated pinky and thumb fingers. Due to this dexterity, raccoons are able to take the lids off jars, rip open bags, and undo knots.
The average raccoon lives for between eight and twelve years and weighs between 14 and 25 pounds. They can run up to 17 miles per hour and have whiskers, called vibrissae, on their toes. A raccoon’s senses from the front paws alone take up over half of the brain’s section that deals with processing senses. These paws are hairless and extremely sensitive, and raccoons use them to wash their food before eating. Raccoons living in and gravitating to urban areas have begun to get up to 20% larger than raccoons that favor woodland areas. Female raccoons are called sows, while male raccoons are known as boars.