Crab-Eating Raccoon

Crab-Eating Raccoon, medium-sized mammal with a bushy, striped tail native to South America. Similar in appearance to the common raccoon found in North and Central America, this raccoon is named for its habit of eating crabs.

Crab-eating raccoons are found from the southern end of Central America to northern Argentina. Like other raccoons, they occupy a wide variety of habitats, from forested areas to suburban woodlands. They are excellent tree-climbers and swimmers, and they often live near a pond or stream.

A distinctive wide, dark stripe across the eyes and numerous dark, ringlike stripes around the bushy tail make these animals easy to recognize. Crab-eating raccoons have a yellow-reddish tinge to their fur, and their striped tails are longer and less bushy than are those of their cousins, the common raccoon. On average, crab-eating raccoons are about 55 cm (about 22 in) long, not including the tail, and they weigh 5 to 8 kg (11 to 18 lb).

This animal’s remarkable ability to eat crabs is due in part to its strong teeth, which include massive, ridged molars that can crack hard shells. When eating crabs and other foods, crab-eating raccoons use their agile toes and sensitive noses to separate edible food parts from inedible ones. Like other raccoons, crab-eating raccoons have a varied diet, which may include frogs, bird eggs, fruit, nuts, insects, and agricultural crops. They are also known to prey on birds, fish, and small mammals.

Crab-eating raccoons are generally solitary animals, although they come together once a year during the late-summer mating season. Both males and females can mate during their first year of life. After a gestational period of 60 to 73 days, females typically give birth to litters of three or four young. The young are reared by their mother, often in a nest in a hollow tree.

Adult raccoons have few enemies besides humans, who hunt them for meat in some areas, although dogs, weasels, and other carnivores sometimes prey upon the young. They live about seven years in the wild but have been known to survive up to 15 years in captivity.

Scientific classification: The crab-eating raccoon belongs to the raccoon family, Procyonidae, in the order Carnivora. It is classified as Procyon cancrivorus.