Raccoon (Procyon lotor) Home Ranges in Itasca State Park

Abstract

Raccoons (Procyon lotor) are some of the most popular and most damaging animals in the state park. Guests delight in viewing these charismatic animals, but they cause thousands of dollars in damages each year in their attempts at stealing food. We are examining the home range of raccoons in Itasca State Park in Minnesota in late May through early June. The home range of adult mammals can be affected by a wide variety of different things from sex, availability of resources, and weather (Gehrt & Fritzell 1997).We are predicting the males will have a larger home range than those of females. Earlier studies have found that young raccoons are often born in early May, and it is the females that care for the young (Stuewer 1943). Female animals would be restricted to the area around the natal den while males are free to roam. Also, raccoons are promiscuous animals, so it’s advantageous for males to maintain a large home range to overlap with as many females a possible (Gehrt & Fritzell 1997). We also expect the proximity to the campground to have an impact on the home range sizes. Food quantities and dispersal can affect movements and home range of a wide variety of mammals. If the raccoons remain near the campground, they’re expected to have a smaller home range. They have an abundant, relatively stable food supply. This means they won’t need to wander far in search of food (Prange et al. 2004). If the raccoons leave the area of Bear Paw Campground, we expect them to have a larger home range because they’ll be moving farther in search of food.