CautionEdible cooked
Raccoon
Procyon lotor
Masked night forager. Smart enough to open latches. Rabies and raccoon roundworm matter.
- Marks
- Mask; ringed tail
- Size
- 10–20 lb
- Habitat
- Creeks, corn, trash, attics.
- Season
- Year-round; dens up in the worst cold.
- Frequency
- abundant
Stocky, ringed tail, black mask. Dexterous front paws. Dens in sycamore hollows and barns.
Uses
Young fall coons are decent meat — parboil, then roast or can. See Process → Trapping. Lock the coop. Gloves to clean.
If this is the one
Do not handle a daytime, unafraid raccoon. Rabies is real here. Raccoon roundworm (Baylisascaris) in latrine droppings can blind or kill people — bleach latrines, don’t sweep dry.