Laura Dex, age 12, of Allentown, Pennsylvania, for her question:
What are baby raccoons called?
Baby house cats, as everybody knows, are called kittens. But baby lions and tigers are called cubs. So are young foxes, bears and wolves, though the family dog gives birth to puppies. Baby seals also are pups. There seems to be no hard and fast rule for naming young mammals. But since the majority may be called cubs, we might suspect that baby raccoons may be called cubs. And this is correct.
When you watch a baby raccoon at play, his most suitable name seems to be Cutie. True, all young mammals are cute little animals. But this little charmer is more so than most. However, zoologists usually refer to him as cub, at least as long as he stays with his mother which is through the first year of his life.
Our native raccoon ranges far north into Canada and way down south through Central America. In his northern range, he hibernates through the winter and the mating season comes later. The male raccoon mates with several females and departs to live a carefree life. The babes are born about nine weeks later.
The female gives birth to a litter of from three to six cubs. They have thick, raccoon type coats and clever little raccoon hands. Their furry tails are rather stubby, but they are marked with proper raccoon rings. Their little faces have dark raccoon masks, but the baby cubs do not open their bright eyes until they are about three weeks old. Their devoted mother gets no help from the male.
For two months or so, the cubs are kept at home in their cozy nest and fed on mother's milk. At last, the playful little rascals are big enough to take their first walk through the woods.
The high spirited cubs follow their mother, one behind another. Now and then, this one or that one is tempted to step out of line and invest¬igate some fascinating item in the scenery. But not for long. The curious one soon realized that he or she is left behind and scampers to catch up.
This exciting first walk through the woods is after dark, for raccoons usually sleep through the day and carry on most of their business at night. Through the summer, the patient mother teaches her growing cubs how and where to catch frogs and fish also which grains and berries are good to eat. She shows them how to dunk their food in a stream.
Raccoons are hunted by people, dogs and wildcats. When trouble arrives, the mother coaxes her cubs to hide in a tree, while she leads her enemies on a chase through woods and streams. Later she returns to her brood. This merry childhood fun ends all too soon, for at the age of one year the former cubs are adults. The time has come to separate and lead their own lives.