[1 1 .] 1. P rocyon lotor. (Cuvier.) The Raccoon.
Genus Procyon. Stork. Cuvier.
Ursus lotor. Lin. Gmelin. vol. i. p. 103.
Le Raton. Buffon, vol. viii. pp. 337, t.xliii.
Raccoon Bear. Pennant’s Arct. Zool., vol. i. p. 69.
Procyon lotor. Cuvier’s Rigne An., vol. i. p. 143. Sabine, FmnM. Jour., p. 949. Harlan. Faun., p. 53.
The Raccoon. Godman’s Nat. Hist., vol. i. p. 163.
This animal inhabits the southern parts of the fur districts, being found as far
north as Red River, in latitude 50°, from which quarter about one hundred skins
are procured annually by the Hudson’s Bay Company. If there is no mistake
as to the identity of the species, the Raccoon extends farther north on the shores
of the Pacific than it does on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains. Dixon
and Portlock obtained cloaks of Raccoon skins from the natives of Cook’s River,
in latitude 60°, and skins, supposed to be of the Raccoon, were also seen at
Nootka Sound by Captain Cook. Lewis and Clarke expressly state that the
Raccoon, at the mouth of the Columbia, is the same with the animal so common
in the United States. Desmarest says that the Raccoon extends as far south as
Paraguay. It is an animal, with a fox-like countenance, but with much of the
gait of a Bear, and being partially plantigrade, it was classed by Linnaeus in
the genus Ursus. In the wild state, it sleeps by day, comes from its retreat in
the evening, and prowls in the night in search of roots, fruits, green com, birds
and insects. It is said to eat merely the brain, or suck the blood of such birds as
it kills. At low water it frequents the sea-shore to feed on crabs and oysters. It
is fond of dipping its food into water before it eats, which occasioned Linnaeus to
give it the specific name of lotor. It climbs trees with facility. The fur of the
Raccoon is used in the manufacture of hats, and its flesh, when it has been fed on
vegetables, is reported to be good. The live animal is often seen in English
menageries.
DESCRIPTION.
The Raccoon has a round head, with a narrow, tapering nose, which projects considerably
beyond the mouth. The end of the nose is naked and black, and it possesses much flexibility.
The lips are also black. The eyes are round and moderately large ; the pupils circular. The
low, erect ears are elliptical, with their tips much rounded, and, together with their edges, are
of a soiled white colour. The whiskers are strong. The muzzle is covered with short hairs, of a