Raccoon

The gait of a raccon is distinctive and provides an opportunity to capture both front and hind tracks in photos. In snow, the key features of the gait are still visible.

Skulls and examples of feeding behavior are sometimes encountered.








Tracks

Gait

The typical walking gait shows the right front and left rear paired and then the left front and right rear paired.

Snow

Skull

I found this raccoon dead in the forest behind my house.

Feeding Behavior

This raccoon was digging in the mud between the rocks along the beach for something.

Climbing

Raccoons often climb into a tree to sleep. Below are claw marks on a Western Red Cedar with a diameter of 20". There were many old and new marks, suggesting that this tree had been used frequently (perhaps daily) over some period of time. Unlike the Douglas Fir nearby, the first good branch was only 9' off the ground. The moss near the trunk was rubbed off on some branches forming a trail going up the tree.

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