Raccoon

Procyon cancrivorus

Behaviour

All raccoons are nocturnal and omnivorous, eating berries, insects, eggs and small animals. Raccoons seem to "wash" their food before eating it, a behavior reflected in the raccoon's name in other languages—the German word for raccoon is Waschbär and in Finnish Pesukarhu, both meaning "washing bear" while the Common Raccoon species is known in French as the raton laveur or "little washing rat" and in Latin as Procyon lotor or, roughly, "washing pre-dog". It is unlikely that the act of washing is performed to actually clean food; some studies find that raccoons engage in the washing motions when water is not available.

Related Topics:
Nocturnal - Waschbär - Finnish

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