Raccoons try to avoid fighting with each other and prefer to live alone. There are very few occasions when they get involved in fights such as for food, defending, or protecting their offspring. Another reason why raccoons fight each other is to find a mate during the breeding season. However, their fights are usually non-violent and do not result in any serious injury or death.
When Do Raccoons Breed?
Most of the female raccoons become mature enough to start reproducing at the age of about one year. Their mating season normally takes place between the months of January to June every year. After a gestation period of about sixty-five days, the female raccoons give birth from two to five babies. They are called kits or cubs and are generally born in the spring season.
What Sounds Do Raccoons Make During Breeding?
Many people think that raccoons are not vocal. But actually, it is not true as they can make more than two hundred different types of sounds by interacting with each other. In the breeding season, raccoons make screeching sounds just like an owl calling each other. At the time of breeding, they make screaming sounds which often appear like they are fighting each other.
Do Raccoons Breed During The Day?
There is no particular time for a raccoon to breed. It means that they can breed even during the day also. This is one of the reasons why raccoons can be seen to be active during the day, especially in the late winter season, in spite of being nocturnal animals. If the female raccoon does not breed at this time of the season, she will have to wait for another four months to breed again.
How Long A Female Raccoon Remains Pregnant?
A female raccoon remains pregnant for a period of nine weeks. To be more specific, in the case of raccoons the breeding takes place during late winter and early spring. Thereafter, the female raccoon returns back to her den and waits there. She has a gestation period of sixty-three to sixty-five days after which she gives birth to two to five babies called kits normally in the spring days.
How Do Raccoons Find Mate For Breeding?
Raccoons are also known to participate in courtship like human beings. Adult male raccoons usually live alone but in the breeding season, they come out of their dens and wander around in search of female raccoons that they can mate with. The breeding generally takes place in a centralized location where a number of raccoons gather in search of their mates.
Final Words
Male and female raccoons may temporarily live together in the same den during the breeding season. But they do connect or stay in touch with one another after the breeding. While the female raccoon may choose to stay in the den, give birth to the offspring, and take care of it, the male will simply move on with his life. The male raccoons do not take responsibility for the babies.