Do Raccoons Live Or Travel In Packs?

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This is an interesting question in many ways, as when you look at the life cycle of the raccoon, in most cases it will spend some of its life living within a family group, but will also spend much of its life living and hunting as a solitary animal. The key here is that females will naturally spend a lot more of her time with other raccoons than males when we are comparing adults. There are many people who might be afraid of seeing several raccoons together, but in most cases as long as they do not attempt to get too close or to confront the animals, then the raccoons will stay well away from people too.



The Raccoon's Family Unit

The process of developing a family unit begins in the spring, when male and female raccoons start seeking each other out so that they can mate, and in most cases there will be central sites in each area where the animals meet. Males and females may copulate several times over several nights in the spring, but once pregnant the female will retreat from this group. Male raccoons do not usually stay in these groups once they have mated either, and they do not take any part in the raising of the kits once the female gives birth. This will usually result in a litter of between two and five baby raccoons, who will stay with the mother to form the family unit.

Raccoons Hunting Habits

Male raccoons and females outside of the period when they are raising their young will usually be solitary hunters and scavengers, and can look to a variety of food sources depending on their surroundings. Within the family group, the female will spend the summer teaching her young the different hunting and scavenging habits that can prove effective in their habitat, and also showing them different areas where food can be found.

A Female Raccoon And Her Young

After teaching her young some of the survival skills that they will need, the young are usually fully weaned by the time the fall arrives, and it is at this point that the family group will usually break up. The males will usually travel further away from the home range than the females, which is believed to be a natural instinct that prevents inbreeding, and after this point the raccoons will return to being solitary creatures that will not be living or traveling in packs. All about raccoon mating habits

Go back to the Raccoon Removal page or read more About Raccoons.