Diet - Raccoons are omnivorous, eating both plants and animal foods. Plant foods include all types of fruits, berries, nuts, acorns, corn, and other types of grain. Animal foods are crayfish, clams, fish, frogs, snails, insects, turtles and their eggs, mice, rabbits, muskrats, and the eggs and young of ground nesting birds and waterfowl. Behavior - Raccoons are nocturnal. Adult males occupy areas of about 3 to 20 square miles, compared to about 1 to 6 square mile for females.
Adult males tend to be territorial and their ranges overlap very little.
Raccoons are excellent climbers and are capable of gaining access to buildings by climbing conventional fences or by using overhanging limbs to bypass the fence. Reproduction - Raccoons breed mainly in February or March, but mating may occur from December through June, depending on latitude. The gestation period is about 63 days. Most litters are born in April or May but some late-breeding females may not give birth until June, July, or August. Only one litter of young is raised per year.