# Raccoon (*Procyon lotor*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/raccoon  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The raccoon (Procyon lotor) is a mammal in the family Procyonidae, within the order Carnivora. It is a medium-sized, nocturnal, terrestrial animal with an adult body mass of 5.5 kg, and its habitats are forest and human-modified land. Its diet category is carnivore and its trophic level is omnivore, with invertebrate and plant material as its main foods. Gestation lasts from 60 to 72 days, litters average 3.4 young with 1 litter per year, and the raccoon is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 5.08 kg – 5.53 kg |
| Length | 40 cm – 70 cm |
| Lifespan | 20.6 years |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 21 years |
| Main food | invertebrate, plant material |
| Habitat | forest, human_modified |
| Gestation | 60 days – 72 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 3.39 |
| Age at maturity | 12 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Active | At night (nocturnal) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Carnivora
- family: Procyonidae
- genus: Procyon
- species: *Procyon lotor* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms: *Procyon gloveralleni*, *Procyon lotor flavidus*, *Procyon lotor gloveralleni*, *Procyon lotor maynardi*, *Procyon lotor varius*, *Procyon maynardi*, *Procyon minor*, *Ursus lotor*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is a raccoon?

The raccoon is a mammal in the family Procyonidae, order Carnivora. It is medium-sized, nocturnal and terrestrial.

### How heavy is a raccoon?

An adult raccoon has a body mass of 5.5 kg, placing it in the medium size class (1 to 25 kg).

### What does a raccoon eat?

Its main foods are invertebrate and plant material. Its diet category is carnivore and its trophic level is omnivore.

### What habitats does the raccoon live in?

The raccoon lives in forest and human-modified land.

### How long does a raccoon live?

The raccoon has a lifespan of 20.6 years, with values up to 21 years reported.

### How many young does a raccoon have?

A raccoon has 3.4 young per litter on average and 1 litter per year, after a gestation of 64 days. It reaches sexual maturity at 1 year.

### Is the raccoon endangered?

No. The raccoon is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### Who named the raccoon?

The raccoon, Procyon lotor, was named by (Linnaeus, 1758).

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), CC0 1.0, 1.0. Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Raccoon (Procyon lotor). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/raccoon