Testimonials Pay My Bill Jobs. Joseph Wildlife Control St. Toggle navigation. Raccoon Lifespan. How Long Do Raccoons Live? Raccoons in House? Schedule raccoon removal today Trutech Near You. The raccoon population is growing all across the U. This causes many questions about the raccoon lifespan. You may see raccoons if you live in out in the country or in a forested area, but metropolitan areas are often visited or inhabited by these animals too.
Looking at things from a human point of view, you may quickly assume that raccoons are sturdy animals that can easily survive in any environment. A raccoon lifespan varies considerably depending on where they live , weather conditions and, most important, if they live in the wild or in captivity. Besides habitat, raccoon lifespan also depends on which raccoon species they are. The raccoon world, like the human one, is not a fair world.
As you will learn, the difference in raccoon lifespan between wild and pet raccoons is sizable, with the latter enjoying undeniable privileges. As is true for any wildlife, a raccoon living in the wild has to fight every day to find a suitable meal, escape predators and avoid other dangers. These are all life-threatening endeavors.
The combination of these factors limits the average raccoon lifespan in the wild to 2—3 years. It does not sound like a long life, does it? In fact, the life of a raccoon is arduous from the very beginning. Only half of newborn raccoons survive their first year of life. This is a high death rate that negatively affects the average raccoon lifespan figure. But if a raccoon can make it through his first year, his odds of dying drop significantly.
Some raccoons can live up to 5 or 6 years. There have even been reports of raccoons that lived up to 16 years, but that is definitely the exception. The typical raccoon habitat varies from area to area and it affects the raccoon lifespan. In particular, there are four factors that play a significant role in determining how long raccoons live: weather, diseases, natural predators, and human intervention. Cold winters can take an enormous toll on raccoons. When the winter is exceptionally cold and long, the critters are at a high risk of death.
Even when a raccoon finds a suitable, warm den , perhaps sharing it with other animals to generate more heat, finding a meal during a harsh winter is still a real challenge. During these periods food is scarce, and a raccoon may suffer starvation and die. If a raccoon who dies of starvation is a mother with baby raccoons in the litter, her newborn raccoons are now doomed to face the same fate.
With nobody taking care of them, they will die either of cold or starvation. The most common cause of health-related raccoon death in North America is distemper. Distemper is a virus that often attacks raccoons. Once infected, the raccoon will experience respiratory and gastrointestinal problems, and his nervous system will break down as it is attacked by the virus.
Distemper leaves a raccoon with only a tiny chance of survival , and young raccoons are the most vulnerable to the virus. Distemper is more likely to strike large raccoon communities. Often the disease becomes an epidemic, killing most of the raccoon population in the area.
N atural predators. Cold, long winters can also lead a motherless raccoon to starvation and death. Sometimes diseases like canine distemper are the cause of death and can even wipe out a whole community with its epidemic like spread. Even though raccoons usually like to mate in times of increasing daylight, January-March, their ability to adapt is seen here as well as mating seasons and times may differ from region to region. This along with other adaptive measures such as larger litters where there is more mortality rate allow the raccoon to thrive.
Their gestation period is usually days and they have a litter of about kits and only one litter of kits are given birth to each year by a female. They take care of their offspring for about 16 weeks after which the male moves out while the female may stay close to its mother. Call us for removal services.
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