Daniel Heath Justice - Raccoon

Raccoon

Animal

Series editor: Jonathan Burt

Already published

Albatross Graham Barwell Ant Charlotte Sleigh Ape John Sorenson Badger Daniel Heath Justice

Bat Tessa Laird Bear Robert E. Bieder Beaver Rachel Poliquin Bedbug Klaus Reinhardt

Bee Claire Preston Beetle Adam Dodd Bison Desmond Morris Camel Robert Irwin

Cat Katharine M. Rogers Chicken Annie Potts Cockroach Marion Copeland Cow Hannah Velten

Crab Cynthia Chris Crocodile Dan Wylie Crow Boria Sax Deer John Fletcher Dog Susan McHugh

Dolphin Alan Rauch Donkey Jill Bough Duck Victoria de Rijke Eagle Janine Rogers Eel Richard

Schweid Elephant Dan Wylie Falcon Helen Macdonald Flamingo Caitlin R. Kight Fly Steven

Connor Fox Martin Wallen Frog Charlotte Sleigh Giraffe Edgar Williams Goat Joy Hinson

Goldfish Anna Marie Roos Gorilla Ted Gott and Kathryn Weir Guinea Pig Dorothy Yamamoto

Hare Simon Carnell Hedgehog Hugh Warwick Hippopotamus Edgar Williams Horse Elaine Walker

Human Amanda Rees and Charlotte Sleigh Hyena Mikita Brottman Jellyfish Peter Williams

Kangaroo John Simons King fisher Ildiko Szabo Leech Robert G. W. Kirk and Neil Pemberton

Leopard Desmond Morris Lion Deirdre Jackson Lizard Boria Sax Llama Helen Cowie

Lobster Richard J. Kin Mole Steve Gronert Ellerhoff Monkey Desmond Morris Moose Kevin Jackson

Mosquito Richard Jones Moth Matthew Gandy Mouse Georgie Carroll Octopus Richard Schweid

Ostrich Edgar Williams Otter Daniel Allen Owl Desmond Morris Oyster Rebecca Stott

Parrot Paul Carter Peacock Christine E. Jackson Pelican Barbara Allen Penguin Stephen Martin

Pig Brett Mizelle Pigeon Barbara Allen Polar Bear Margery Fee Rabbit Victoria Dickinson

Raccoon Daniel Heath Justice Rat Jonathan Burt Rhinoceros Kelly Enright Salmon Peter Coates

Sardine Trevor Day Scorpion Louise M. Pryke Seal Victoria Dickenson Shark Dean Crawford

Sheep Philip Armstrong Skunk Alyce Miller Snail Peter Williams Snake Drake Stutesman

Sparrow Kim Todd Spider Katarzyna and Sergiusz Michalski Squid Martin Wallen

Swallow Angela Turner Swan Peter Young Tiger Susie Green Tortoise Peter Young

Trout James Owen Turtle Louise M. Pryke Vulture Thom van Dooren Walrus John Miller and Louise Miller Wasp Richard Jones Whale Joe Roman Wild Boar Dorothy Yamamoto

Wolf Garry Marvin Woodpecker Gerard Gorman Zebra Christopher Plumb and Samuel Shaw

Raccoon

Daniel Heath Justice

REAKTION BOOKS

To Rachel Poliquin and all the AnimalFest 2015 authors, whose shared love of these beasts and these books inspired me to write another one

Published by

REAKTION BOOKS LTD

Unit 32, Waterside

4448 Wharf Road

London N1 7UX, UK

www.reaktionbooks.co.uk

First published 2021

Copyright Daniel Heath Justice 2021

All rights reserved

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers

Page references in the Photo Acknowledgements and
Index match the printed edition of this book.

Printed and bound in India by Replika Press Pvt. Ltd

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

eISBN 9781789144253

Common northern raccoon (Procyon lotor).

Both in expression and in movement, she showed that strange mixture of gaiety, ferocity, mischievousness, and confident sagacity, which makes the raccoon unlike in character to all the other wild kindreds.

Charles G. D. Roberts, The Watchers of the Trails

Black masks, striped tails, nimble fingers and quick minds: raccoons are instantly recognizable even in locales where they are known only in captivity or popular culture. For centuries they have been native icons of wild America, although today they are increasingly associated with human-dominated cityscapes. Long before the spacefaring bandit Rocket Raccoon found global popularity in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, his four-legged counterparts were making regular if largely stereotyped appearances in Hollywood films and cartoons, alongside those in innumerable childrens books, nature memoirs, hunting accounts and frontier histories. Raccoons have been beloved pets of rich and poor alike, their distinctive skins and tails have been taken and transformed into popular clothing and headwear, their flesh has been alternately valued and derided as a source of sustenance. They have inspired the names of hunts, hounds and housecats, along with a particularly vicious racist slur. And wherever they live, raccoons inhabit a curious outlaw status, abiding in the unruly borderlands of what many humans consider appropriate animal behaviour, and their seemingly uncanny intelligence, dexterity and determination make them fascinating and frustrating in equal measure.

As is the case with all real or perceived outlaws, when it comes to our attitudes towards raccoons, there rarely seems to be a middle ground: we either love them or hate them. Furtive bandits of the night, ring-tailed raiders of rubbish bins and bird tables, bane of urban homeowners and rural farmers, raccoons are readily associated with lawlessness and uncontrollability. Even their physical characteristics seem designed to polarize: one observer sees adorable impishness in the black facial pelage, banded tail and hunched back, whereas a less generous viewer sees a masked cartoon criminal sneaking around in a striped prison uniform. Further, they seem to be an eerie combination of creatures: sharp-nosed masked faces and inscrutable animal eyes that combine with human-like forepaws, a predilection for hand washing, and an irrepressible intelligence beyond that associated with all but the most advanced primates. They seem predisposed to annoy city and suburban homeowners, showing up unexpectedly to enthusiastically harvest lovingly tended gardens, ravage fish ponds and water features, upend waste containers, loudly mate and den in attics and make a parasite-rich mess with their faeces and food remnants. When confronted, raccoons often seem fearless, even defiant, as if unwilling to concede any ground to our self-proclaimed species superiority.

Raccoons are unusual among wild animals in being drawn to novelty in their environment rather than being frightened by it. This quality, as much as intelligence and flexibility of habitat and diet, has contributed greatly to their species success in a time of global climate disruption.