Size and Weight: The adult raccoon is a medium-sized mammal and the largest of the Procyonidae family. Females are typically ready to breed when they are about 10 months old. 2015-12-05 20:20:00 2015-12-05 20:20:00. We can perform an inspection to make sure all of the available prevention steps are complete, and we can spot any particular areas that raccoons might take advantage of. Often, raccoons will become inactive for days to weeks at a … The male does not participate in the raising of the kits. Raccoon mating season varies considerably by geography. 5. Mating occurs during the winter months but can continue until June. Nursing mothers, in particular, have a voracious appetite, often spending nights and days gathering food. If these prevention steps aren’t working, or you’re concerned about the raccoons on your property, give Pioneer Pest Management a call. Because its hind legs are longer than the front legs, a raccoon often appears hunched when they walk or run. After about three weeks, they begin to open their eyes and their ears become erect. Most females begin reproducing around the age of one. PLS EXPLAIN STEPS? What is the role if male raccoon in raising young? She will keep the cubs in one spot for the first eight weeks. Approximately nine weeks (or 63 days) after mating, mothers will give birth to her offspring. A mother usually separates from other raccoons to raise her young alone. The tracks look like small bare hands. Some say the raccoon can make over 200 different sounds. All rights reserved. A raccoon’s mating season occurs during late winter and early spring. Females typically begin reproducing around one year of age and give birth to two to five kits. Peak mating season is March through April, but raccoons will begin to breed as soon as the weather gets warmer. In spring, juveniles disperse from the areas in which they were born. So even now, the male raccoons are starting to undergo the hormonal changes that dictates the breeding season. During this period of time, skunks and raccoons will travel great distances looking for a mate. She comes into heat in January. But, with movement in and out of denning sites regularly necessitated for breeding activity, trap setting is productive. Some of their diseases, including roundworm, trichinosis and rabies, also place people and pets at risk. Broad cheeks, a long slender muzzle, erect rounded ears and a black strip or mask across the cheeks and eyes give the raccoon a masked bandit-like appearance. From a trapping perspective, raccoon movement = the ability to trap them efficiently & successfully. Baby raccoons make different vocalizations. Newborn Raccoons are blind, but have fur and the mask is visible, or soon will be. During the mating season, raccoon males frequently expand their home ranges, presumably to include the home ranges of more females as potential mates. After breeding, they, like male raccoons, typically return to their dens for the remainder of winter. During the mating season, February to March, the male raccoon travels long distances and mates with many females. This means that a large portion of the raccoon population is capable of having offspring. Around February or March, a healthy female raccoon that is at least 1 year old will begin mating. The raccoon is softening the food and looking for foreign objects on the food. If you make your home inhospitable to raccoons, they won’t stay! Raccoons walk flat-footed (with heels touching the ground), like people and bears. 3. Raccoons around the country, including Ohio, are beginning to reproduce. This is especially true if the raccoons were living in your attic prior to mating season. Though previously thought to be quite solitary, there is now evidence that the species congregates in gender-specific groups. He was able to capture the animal quickly by putting a trap right in its travel path. Raccoons can carry rabies and canine distemper. We can perform an inspection to make sure all of the available prevention steps are complete, and we can spot any particular areas that raccoons might take advantage of. We recommend seasonal inspections of the outside of your home, to make sure prevention is in place before breeding season. Outside of the breeding season, raccoons will change dens frequently. Often, raccoons will become inactive for days to weeks at a time under harsh conditions. I video taped like 8 raccoons snarling and growling, batting at each other. Geography: The raccoon is native to North America and can be found throughout the United States, except for parts of the Rocky Mountains, and southwestern states like Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. They find shelter in either hollow trees or dens (woodchuck burrows, culverts, under buildings). Because she’s about to give birth to kits, she’ll be even more careful about her choice. The male raccoon, or boar, is slightly larger than the female, also referred to as sow. Raccoon breeding begins in February.