The male travels from large tree to large tree searching out the hollow tree where a female is denned. The male raccoon will be up and about seeking a female even when the temperature is minus 20 degrees Celsius. His searching often takes him outside his home range. If he meets up with another male, a fight is almost sure to follow. Loud banshee-like squeals, growling and churring noises shatter the darkness.
Daylight finds the male holed up in a handy tree cavity or curled up asleep on a ground bed.
Most males do not mate until their second year. Most females mate in their first year. The male raccoon is polygamous, which means he may mate with more than one female. The female drives off all other males except the one she selects to be her mate. As she mates with only one male, she is monogamous.