Waterfowl nests are raided regularly for eggs and raccoons sometimes raid farmyards for chickens or other fowl. Corn in the milk stage is vulnerable to raccoons and they find sweet corn particularly attractive. The damage to sweet corn by raccoons can be extensive, as this species commonly wastes more sweet corn than it eats. Adult raccoons are sometimes preyed upon by coyotes, bobcats, and mountain lions where ranges overlap. Juvenile raccoons are also killed at times by large owls, eagles and fishers.
Several diseases afflict coons, including both canine and feline distemper.
Raccoons occasionally carry leptospirosis, which can be transmitted to humans via biting. Rabies is also a problem in raccoons and this species is the leading carrier of this dreaded disease in some eastern and southeastern states. Parasites infecting coons include roundworms, flatworms, tapeworms, mange causing mites, lice and fleas. Ten years of age is considered old for a wild raccoon. Webmaster Tom Williams.