Insects and other invertebrates form an important part of the diet. Fish, birds, and snakes are taken occasionally. In summer and early autumn raccoons develop a fondness for adult and larval wasps and their stored foods. In winter they concentrate in the river bottoms and subsist largely on acorns and crayfish. The breeding season begins in February and continues through August.
Raccoons are promiscuous in their sexual relations.
At birth, young raccoons are well-furred and have dark skins, no rings on the tail, and the eyes and ears are closed. The eyes open between the 18th and 23rd day. The mother alone tends her youngsters, and when they have grown large enough to leave the den site they follow her about, seeking shelter when necessary in tangles of roots or vines, in crevices, or under rocks. The family group remains intact long after the young ones have been weaned. John L. Tveten.