raccoon

Raccoons are good climbers and spend much of their time in trees, usually near water. Their varied diet includes small aquatic animals such as frogs, crayfish, and fish. The common raccoon, found in North America from southern Canada to the Panama Canal, was adopted as a pet by the early settlers.

Any of several New World species of carnivorous mammals of the genus Procyon, in the family Procyonidae. The common raccoon P. lotor is about 60 cm/2 ft long, with a grey-brown body, a black-and-white ringed tail, and a black ‘mask’ around its eyes. The crab-eating raccoon P. cancrivorus of South America is slightly smaller and has shorter fur.