Their rear legs are slightly longer than their front legs which, combined with their flat-footedness, causes them to waddle when they walk. The raccoons footprints resemble those of a human being. Because their front toes can be opened wide, the forepaws can be used skillfully to handle food and other objects. Using their sensitive hand-like front paws, they can catch fish and small prey and bring food to their mouths and hold it while they eat. With these tiny "hands", the raccoon can also open locks, unlatch bird feeders, open up garbage cans, etc.

Adult raccoons may be anywhere from 24 to 40 inches in length (including 8-12 inches for tail) and weigh 14 to 40 pounds depending upon locale (larger raccoons in the north) and sex (males are larger than females). Average is about 3 feet and 25-30 pounds. Captive raccoons can weigh considerably more than their wild neighbors and they have a tendency to obescity. I would venture a safe guess that the male raccoon who weighed a record 62 pounds was not found in the wild.

Information on this is not consistent. Depending on the sources, raccoons average life-span in the wild is anywhere from 5 to 8 years while it ranges from 8 to 13 years for captive raccoons. Reportedly, there have been cases of raccoons living up to 16 years in the wild and 21 in captivity. In the wild, the greatest mortality occurs during the first 2 years of life - the principal causes of which are man (hunting, trapping, cars, dogs). In captivity, I would imagine the greatest mortality would also have to occur during the first 2 years of life - with the principal causes again being man (ignorance as to nutrition needs and proper raising of infant raccoons, failure to provide vet care necessary for captive wildlife, dumping a "pet" raccoon into the wild when it becomes too wild to handle).

In the wild, raccoons are found across most of North America. They inhabit wetlands, plains and, primarily, forests. However, as civilization moves in on them and destroys their habitats, raccoons adapt quite well to living in urban areas and are among the most common wildlife species found in cities and towns. Their ideal habitat would be heavily wooded areas with a mixture of evergreen and hardwood trees in various stages of growth, with rivers, streams or lakes. Bottomland hardwoods provide hard mast, insects, and aquatic animal life.

Raccoons are omnivorous and opportunistic carnivores. In spring they eat primarily animal matter such as: crayfish, fish, arthropods, amphibians, reptiles, a few small mammals and rodents, birds, and eggs. In the summer and fall they eat large amounts of grains, acorns, other nuts, and fruits. In the winter, they live off their fat store as well as carion, an occasional small mammal or rodent and sometimes even bark . Foraging occurs in all saline and freshwater riparian habitats, shallow water, vegetation, and on the ground.