Over the winter, the raccoon will lose up to 50 percent of its fall body weight. Some raccoons, most of them yearlings, starve to death. Mosses, leaves, hemlock needles and acorns are all they find to eat. As the ground thaws, they eat earthworms, an important source of food at this time of the year. Aquatic prey become available in wetland areas.
Animal foods are most important during late winter and early spring.
In spring and early summer, the raccoon's diet is high in protein. Crayfish, frogs, salamanders, turtles, and insects are eaten in large numbers. By late summer and during autumn, plant foods make up as much as three quarters of their diet. The raccoon's habitat determines what foods it eats. Raccoons living in lowland wet areas consume large numbers of crayfish and occasionally berries.