Many naturalists raccoons derive some information from handling the food underwater which may cause them to accept or reject it. Raccoons are adept climbers, and, being nocturnal, they spend most of their daylight hours in trees. On warm, bright days they like to sun themselves while lying flat on horizontal limbs, in squirrel leaf nests or curled up in the crotches of trees. Then at night, they descend in search of food. They travel, feed and hunt almost exclusively on the ground.
Most raccoons have central home dens as well as others scattered about their feeding ranges.
Adult home ranges are about a mile in diameter, greater when food is scarce. An ideal den or nesting site is a hollow in a large tree trunk or limb, but raccoons also use old woodchuck burrows, caves, rock crevices and abandoned farm buildings. Raccoons have short, stout builds. Men and dogs are the adults' main enemies, although owls, foxes and bobcats may take young that stray from their mothers' protection. Raccoons are strong swimmers.