Latino Trash Pandas
And we’re back! Hello Everyone, I am excited to talk about this week’s fantastic non-charismatic species. We all know the friend shaped terror known as raccoons, and October 1st was National Raccoon Appreciation Day. I have wanted a raccoon buddy since first watching Disney’s Pocahontas….Meeko is the dream side kick. However these cute gremlins are only found in North and Central America. South America has it’s own version of raccoons, but they are a little…fancier. It is my distinct pleasure to introduce you to the Crab-eating raccoon. Let’s dumpster dive into it!
What is it? I feel like I say this every time, but as the name suggests they are a species of raccoon. There are actually 7 different species of these furballs. They are also known as southern raccoons. These raccoons appear to be smaller than their northern cousins, but that is because they have shorter, smoother fur than the extra fluffy, northern raccoon. They average around 11-15 pounds, though males usually are a but bigger than females. Though southern raccoons generally only live around 5-ish years, they can reportedly live up to 14-15 years old. Which is pretty good considering the predators they live around (looking at you jaguars). They are also nocturnal like their northern cousins.
Where can I find them? There is a small amount of crossover of the northern and southern raccoon species in Central America. Their northern range is in Costa Rica and goes all the way into northern Argentina. They are very adaptable, and can live most anywhere there is food water, and shelter. They do prefer living near any body of water in lower elevations.
What do they eat? As the name suggests… seafood. Gotchya! I mean they do eat crabs, but they will eat much more than that. They are opportunistic omnivores, and will eat a variety of shellfish and crustaceans, fish, amphibians, and some fruits and nuts. It’s not that exciting, if they can….they will eat it.
How do we get more of these cuties?! These are not romantic animals. Crab-eating raccoons only come together once a year, between July to September, for breeding. The female then gets a bit territorial while pregnant for 60-73 days, and then become VERY territorial when she gives birth to anywhere from 2-7 kits, with an average of 3 kits. Mama raccoons do not tolerate any other raccoons in her territory while she has the kits. The kits stay with mom till they are around mom till they are 8 months old.
Do Crab-Eating Raccoons have superpowers? Of course they do! Cat burglars should be called raccoon burglars, but that’s a bit too wordy. Crab-eating raccoons are incredibly smart, nimble, with incredibly strong senses. Their sense of touch is extremely high, they touch everything. Their dexterity is quite amazing, and they are capable of manipulating a wide variety of objects. Northern raccoons are famous for “washing” their food, and Crab-eaters have been observed doing this as well. Recently, cognitive studies have been done on crab-eaters, and their intelligence is much higher than we thought. The study showed that raccoons are smarter than cats, but not quite as smart as primates. With all that, plus the fact they wear a mask…..Super Hero!
How many are there? Scientists aren’t entirely sure, but they believe the population is decreasing. The crab-eating raccoon isn’t as quick as it’s northern cousin to living around humans. There are no subspecies of this raccoon.
map from IUCN
Science Time!!!
Crab-eating raccoon - Procyon cancrivorus
According to the IUCN Red List has them designated as Least Concern, but with a decreasing population. Their main threats are habitat destruction, over-hunting for pelts, illegal pet trade, and (this is a new one) target practice.
So that’s the story of the amazing crab-eating raccoon. I hope you enjoyed this week’s animal! They are pretty nifty little animals. Starting next week I will be going back to weekly posts. Thankfully all my grant writing is done for now! Have a great weekend and I’ll see you next week!
Resources:
Phillips, N. 2005. "Procyon cancrivorus" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed October 10, 2024 at https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Procyon_cancrivorus/
Reid, F., Helgen, K. & González-Maya, J.F. 2016. Procyon cancrivorus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T41685A45216426. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T41685A45216426.en.
