Raccoon
Procyon lotor With its black mask across its eyes and ringed tail, the nocturnal raccoon may be familiar to you as your late night garbage can marauder. These omnivores will eat just about anything, including fruit, eggs, fish, small mammals, and insects. They live with equal facility along wild rivers or in densely settled residential areas. Dens for the young are situated in tree hollows, rock dens, or caves. Raccoons are very curious animals. They like to handle everything, especially food, with their sensitive hands. They are also fond of water, and although they may wander far from it while hunting, most of their life is spent near streams, lakes, or marshes. Raccoons lack salivary glands to wet their food as they eat. That is why they often dunk their food in water before eating it. When walking, these animals look ungainly and clumsy. Like a bear, a raccoon walks with its heel on the ground. Their agility, however, is demonstrated in climbing as they use their sharp claws.