Few animals are as recognisable — or as misunderstood.

With their black facial “mask” and ringed tail, raccoons are one of the most successful wild animals at adapting to life alongside people — and Montclair’s mix of mature trees, storm drains, and unsecured trash cans makes it good raccoon habitat.

What they look like

Adult raccoons typically weigh 8 to 20 pounds, with greyish-brown fur, a black mask across the eyes, and a bushy tail marked with five to seven dark rings. Their front paws are strikingly dexterous, with long fingers that let them open latches, jars, and doors — a big part of why they’re so good at getting into trash.

Family life

Raccoons mate in late winter, January to March, and after about 63 days females give birth to a litter of two to five kits in spring, usually in a tree cavity, chimney, or attic space. Kits stay with their mother for close to a year, learning to forage, climb, and navigate territory before dispersing. Males typically leave sooner and range farther than females, who often settle near their mother’s territory.

Raccoon mothers are fiercely protective and will relocate kits to a new den if the first one is disturbed, carrying them one at a time by the scruff of the neck.

If you find a den in your attic or chimney with kits present, the most humane approach is to wait. She will move the family on her own once the kits are mobile, usually within a few weeks.

Daily habits

Raccoons are primarily nocturnal, most active from dusk until dawn. They’re opportunistic omnivores, eating fruit, nuts, insects, small animals, eggs, and — readily — whatever people leave accessible: unsecured trash, pet food left outdoors, or unprotected compost.

Raccoons don’t truly hibernate, but they do den up and become far less active during the coldest winter stretches, living off fat reserves built up in autumn.

Territory and range

Home ranges vary widely with food availability — as small as a few blocks in a resource-rich suburban neighbourhood, or several square miles in less developed areas. Raccoons are excellent climbers and swimmers, and a single raccoon may use several different den sites through the year — tree cavities, brush piles, culverts, sheds — rather than one fixed home.

Living alongside raccoons

Raccoons rarely seek out conflict with people, and a few simple steps go a long way toward peaceful coexistence.

• Secure trash and compost. Use tight-fitting or latched lids — raccoons are strong and dexterous enough to defeat loose-fitting ones.
• Bring pet food inside. Outdoor pet food is one of the biggest raccoon attractants in residential areas.
• Cap the chimney and screen vents. These are prime denning spots; capping them before spring keeps raccoons from moving in.
• Leave a denning mother alone. If raccoons have already denned in a chimney or attic, wait for the kits to become mobile rather than attempting removal — the family will leave on its own, and one-way exclusion devices installed afterwards prevent reentry.
• Give them space. Raccoons encountered outdoors will almost always retreat if given a clear path away from people and pets.

With food sources secured, raccoons tend to move through a yard rather than settle in it — one of many wild neighbours that ask very little of us in return for the pest control and seed dispersal they quietly provide.