Though numerous, they avoid human contact. It's an amazing and unusual event for a city dweller to see a fully grown raccoon casually shuffle across an almost deserted city intersection after midnight, far from anything one could call wilderness. Native to North America, the raccoon is found commonly throughout the U.S., southern Canada, and as far south as Central America and the West Indies. Their natural haunts are forests, stream edges and coastal marshes. But more recently they have moved into the pothole regions of the prairie provinces.
Many biologists believe man-induced changes in habitat tipped the scales in favour of the raccoon.
Since the 1940's tremendous changes have occurred in prairie agriculture. Mechanized clearing of large tracts of forested land left numerous scrub piles behind. Fewer people farming more land meant numerous abandoned farm buildings. Raccoons need a rich variety of both plant and animal food in their diets. They normally select invertebrates such as snails and insects, bird eggs, small birds and mammals, and supplement their diets with wild fruits and nuts.