Thirty feet above the ground lives a “graze,” or family, of raccoons. Several times earlier in the year, adults were noticed walking in the hackberry tree’s vicinity–likely appraising the neighborhood. Apparently they moved in, because on Friday, June 12, 2015, Mrs. Raccoon and her five offspring were enjoying a morning outdoors. Five cubs are visible, some nursing or waiting for breakfast, while the sow grooms them. The female did both tasks while lying on her back on a limb! After cubs are born, the boar is out of the picture; female raccoons are single mothers.
Jennifer Mueller wrote this essay about raccoons for Demand Media.
With the exception of mothers and their young, raccoons live solitary existences. The mostly nocturnal raccoon is an opportunistic omnivore native to North America. Young raccoons typically stay with their mothers for about a year after their birth, to learn how to find food. During this time, mothers are extremely protective and will attack anything that comes too close to their young.
Mating The months of January, February, and March are mating season for raccoons. Most mating occurs during March, although raccoons living in the more northerly portions of the animal’s geographic range tend to breed earlier than those to the south. During mating season, males expand their usual geographic range, presumably to increase the possibility of encounters with females. Although females and males may den with each other temporarily during this time, they do not associate with each other after mating; females raise the young on their own.
Infancy Female raccoons are pregnant for around two months before giving birth to a litter [also called “group” or “nursery”] of between four and six young. Raccoons are born blind and completely helpless. Their eyes do not open until they are approximately three weeks old. They will be between four and six weeks old before they are able to stand on their own. The mother weans her young when they are between two and three months old….They will leave the nest with her and start to hunt for food with their mother’s guidance and assistance. During these first forays out of the den, the mother may carry the babies individually in her mouth.
Adolescence As the young raccoon continues to grow, his mother will teach him how to hunt on his own and how to climb trees to escape predators. By the time raccoons are around five months of age, they regularly forage on their own, as well as with their mothers, but they continue to den with their mother and siblings. This family unit remains intact throughout the adolescent raccoon’s first winter. Although raccoons do not hibernate, families stay together in the same dens, sleeping through the most severe winter periods.
Maturity In early spring following the year they were born, young raccoons typically leave their mother’s den. The average adolescent raccoon becomes independent at ten months of age. Some leave home as early as eight months and some as late as 12. Females are sexually mature at this point, although males do not reach sexual maturity until their second year. Even after they’ve reached maturity, young raccoons may choose to den near their mother or somewhere on their natal home range. Young male raccoons are more independent, however, and may move several miles away from their mother, before establishing their own dens and home ranges.
On Wednesday morning, June 17, Mother Raccoon enjoyed a solitary limb nap. Were her five cubs asleep inside the tree? Were they foraging under the mulberry trees on their own? Time will tell. They likely will be in the hackberry for another year.