David Buchanan, age 10, of Shreveport, La., for his question:
WHAT DO RACCOONS EAT?
Raccoons are furry animals that have bushy, ringed tails and bands of black hair around their eyes. This black hair looks like a mask. Raccoons belong to the same family as pandas, coatis, kinkajous and ringtails. They eat a variety of foods.
Raccoons are of two main species: the northern raccoon that lives in the United States, Canada and Central America, and the crab eating raccoon found chiefly in South America.
The northern raccoons also eat crabs. Their other food include crayfish, frogs, fish and other fresh water animals. Raccoons also eat acorns, birds' eggs, corn, fruit, nuts, seeds and small land animals, such as grasshoppers and mice.
Raccoons measure from 30 to 38 inches in length, including their tails. They weigh from 12 to 25 pounds. Most males are larger than the females.
Most raccoons have from five to seven rings around their tails Both main species have pointed snouts and long, flexible fingers. Raccoons have strong, sharp claws, which help them climb. They also use their paws to find food and they can handle objects almost as skillfully as monkeys can. The crab eating raccoon has longer legs than the northern raccoon.
Raccoons in the southern United State and South America remain active the year around. In colder areas, raccoons sleep for long periods during the winter, but they do not hibernate. During true hibernation, an animal's heart rate and temperature decrease greatly. On mild winter days, a raccoon may wake up and leave its den to search for food.
Raccoons in colder areas prepare for winter by eating extra food during the fall. They store up a layer of fat under the skin and this fat keeps them alive during the long winter sleep.
Lots of people believe that raccoons "wash" their food because they frequently dunk their food in water before eating it. But experiments show that the animals dunk food that is already clean or wet as often as they dunk dirty or dry food.
This habit of dunking food in water seems much more common among raccoons in captivity than in their natural environment. Some scientists say captured raccoons are simply imitating the way they would pull fish or other animals from rivers and streams.
For these reasons , scientists do not believe that the animals actually wash their food.
Northern raccoons mate once a year between and June. About nine weeks after mating, the female has from one to seven babies. Most females have three or four young a year.
Newborn raccoons have no masks around their eyes or rings on their tails. Their eyes do not open until about 20 days after birth. The mother carefully protects her young and does not even let the father near them. The babies stay in the den about 10 weeks. Then they begin to follow their mother when she searches for food. She teaches her young to protect themselves.