Raccoons are undeniably one of the most charming animals on Earth. And besides, they are cunning, arrogant and excellently able to survive in any conditions. It's amazing that with such an explosive set of skills, raccoons have not yet conquered us … Or did they?
RESIDENTS OF FORESTS AND CITIES
In general, there are four types of raccoons - Guadalupe raccoon, Cozumel raccoon, raccoon raccoon and raccoon raccoon. But the first two are endemic to the small islands of Guadeloupe and Cozumel, which is why they are relatively little known. Cancer eaters are widespread throughout South America, but they lead a secretive nocturnal lifestyle, trying not to catch the eye of people especially. So for the whole raccoon fraternity, in fact, one strip is blown out. Well, as one - as many as twenty-two subspecies! All of them, however, are almost indistinguishable from each other both in appearance and character.
Raccoons are exceptionally intelligent, curious, agile and fearless animals. This sounds like purely positive qualities, but it only works if you are a raccoon, and not a tourist from whom this same raccoon stole the bedding from the tent and sandwiches for dinner. Tracking down and catching up with the striped thief, too, most likely, will not work - after all, raccoons masterfully adapt and survive. Their native element is the forest, where they climb trees with incredible dexterity, can cling to and hang on branches, go downside down. They hunt, as a rule, at dusk and at night, which is facilitated by their excellent night vision and touch with vibrissae on the head, chest, stomach and legs. The only negative is that they do not know how to dig holes, but they easily find shelter in hollows and abandoned burrows of other animals. Human cities are like a second home for raccoonswhere you can always dig up tasty pieces in garbage cans or simply beg from pitying passers-by. Add to this almost absolute omnivorousness, resistance to many diseases, active reproduction and aggressive defense against predators, and you get a real biological machine to conquer the world. And don't forget about the charm! After all, it was thanks to him that raccoons were able to settle in Japan.
UNFIRMABLE BEAST
It was like this - since 1977, the super popular anime series "Raccoon named Raskal" was released in Japan, after which, on the wave of fashion, thousands of raccoons were imported from the USA for domestication. When the government figured out to prohibit such ill-conceived imports, raccoons have already settled well not only in Japanese homes, but also in cities, parks and forests. Forever, I see. Since it is one thing to settle a raccoon in a favorable environment, and it is quite another to evict him from there. It is noteworthy that the Japanese, in principle, could guess what they were signing up for. The anime was filmed based on the book by American writer Sterling North, where a boy who raised a raccoon was just forced to release him. Raccoons can be domesticated, but it works every other time. The older the animal getsthe more independence and aggression are manifested in him, and if they outweigh the love for the owner, it will be difficult to cope with him.
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In Eurasia, the striped raccoon has appeared since the 30s of the XX century. He was introduced, i.e. took root first in Germany, then in Primorye, Lithuania, Belarus, Donbass, the Caucasus and Azerbaijan. In this case, just for the sake of biological diversity. In Germany, by the way, this happened under the Nazi regime, under the leadership of the chief forester of the Third Reich, Hermann Goering, with a simultaneous strict ban on shooting animals. As a result, raccoons, which had bred by the beginning of the 21st century, flooded forests and attacked farmers' lands, earned a notoriety as "weapons of the Nazis". It was then that there was no question of any ban on shooting, but as in Japan, it was completely unrealistic to expel the raccoon from Europe.
RINSE MASTERS
In English, the raccoon is called "raccoon", which in turn comes from the word "aroughcun" from the now-dead language of the Pohatan Indians. It translated roughly as "the one who scratches with his hands." The Spaniards, in turn, took the designation of the raccoon - "mapache" - from the Aztec language, where it was called "mapachitli", that is, "grabbing everything with his hands." The Russian word has an origin that is not directly related to the animal. Initially, not live raccoons were imported to Russia, but only their skins, which pretty much resembled the skins of genes - African and European animals that look like a hybrid of a cat and a ferret. At one time, genets were so popular that in Europe they were kept as pets to exterminate rodents and were bred for the sake of beautiful fur. Without understanding, the skins of raccoons also began to be called genet, then genote, until, finally, they came to the "raccoon". But in order to keep up with the topic, then they added the definition of "stripper" to the animal.
This is not surprising - if you observe the food rituals of raccoons, you can easily notice their manic desire to rinse their prey in any available body of water. Moreover, why they do this is not fully known, but definitely not for hygienic reasons. Perhaps in order to better touch food - raccoons "see" with their hands as well as with their eyes and moisturized food seems more attractive to them. Perhaps to make sure that the live prey is really dead and ready to rest in the raccoon stomach. Or maybe the habit of looking for edible crustaceans, amphibians and insects at the bottom of reservoirs just affects. And - yes, in order to thoroughly shock the raccoon, you can simply hand him a piece of refined sugar or cotton candy near the reservoir.
PETS AND PESTS
The raccoon also made its way into the mythology of the North American Indians thanks to its charm. He acts as a trickster - a dodger, a rogue, a deceiver, sometimes skillful, sometimes clumsy. The raccoon Azeban from the Abenaki legends in one story in his hearts tries to shout down a waterfall after an unsuccessful attempt to lure the birds to him, but loses his balance and falls into the water. In another case, he cleverly fools naive crayfish, pretending to be dead, and then bursts them on both cheeks. In the third myth, a raccoon mocks two blind people, stealing food from them and forcing them to fight, for which he receives a "bandit" mask and a striped tail.
After the colonization of North America, large-scale hunting of raccoons began. The animals were valued for their beautiful warm fur, and they were quite suitable for food. In the XX century "raccoon hats" with a drooping tail, the pride of hunters and scouts, gained particular popularity. Raccoons were exterminated by tens and hundreds of thousands, but, as in other cases, this did not particularly damage them.
In Russia, where freshly introduced raccoons are not yet very numerous, we are largely guided by the romantic image of Little Raccoon from the famous Soviet cartoon. This makes us similar to the Japanese, who have not yet recovered from the consequences of the terrible cultural attack of their beloved childhood animated series. In their homeland - in the USA, as well as in Europe, raccoons are more likely to be considered pests and thieves. Both opinions, in general, are quite justified: the variety of raccoons is amazing, and their intelligence and resilience deserve every respect. And yet, when a muzzle with a "bandit" mask or a thick striped tail flashes next to you, watch out for food and rugs.
Sergey Evtushenko