Raccoon

Where does the raccoon live?

Home: Forests, wetlands and cities across North America and parts of Europe.

In the wild you find it in: United States, Canada, Mexico, Germany, France.

Conservation status from the IUCN: not in danger.

The short profile

Fully grown it measures up to 70 cm long, plus a 25 cm tail. It weighs about 7 kilograms. On the menu: both plants and meat.

The story behind it

A raccoon's front paws are extremely sensitive, with far more nerve endings than most mammals, so touch is almost as important to it as sight, especially in the dark or underwater where it often searches for food. This is likely why raccoons appear to 'wash' their food in water, actually feeling and softening it rather than truly cleaning it. Raccoons are excellent problem solvers, able to open latches, jars and even some door handles to find food. Introduced to parts of Europe and Japan through the pet trade, raccoons have become successful, sometimes unwelcome, invaders far from their native range. Their adaptability keeps wild populations thriving nearly everywhere they live.

Find it on the globe

Raccoon is there as a tiny animated figure that breathes and looks around. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.

It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.