The Raccoon

The common raccoon (Procyon lotor) arrived in Europe between the two world wars, straight from America where the fur of this carnivorous mammal has always been coveted.

Despite the differences in environment between the two continents, the raccoon has adapted perfectly, this is why it is called opportunistic since its behavior changes according to its environment, knowing that already, male and female do not react in the same way in the same situations.

In Europe where it has become naturalized, the raccoon lives near forests, rivers, rural areas with watered crops, but also near cities where it likes parks and sewers. Its habitat is indicative of its opportunism: thus, it can get very close to humans by settling in attics, chimneys or barns. Being an exogenous species, the natural predators of the raccoon are animals that are quite rare or even non-existent in Europe: the lynx, the puma, the coyote, the alligator, the wolf, the American marten, the red fox, the dog.

Man has therefore hunted it for its fur or killed it through car traffic, but farmers also fear it because it plunders orchards, cornfields, but also hens and eggs, beehives, storage attics, etc.

Today, the raccoon is very close to cities. It is classified as harmful in France by Ministerial decree of June 28, 2016, and classified by the Council of Europe as an invasive species whose eradication is advised because of its impact on the local fauna since it is considered a threat to biodiversity