The Common Raccoon ( P. Lotor - 1230 Words

The common raccoon (P. lotor) has been said to be one of the most widespread urban mammalian carnivores. Characterised by its fox-like face, bushy striped tail, and unmistakable â€Å"mask† of dark patches around their eyes, the growing population of urban raccoons has become somewhat of an epidemic. These small creatures are known for their relatively high intellect, enabling them to access human resources. Raccoons are omnivores, and have been consistently observed to eat virtually anything. Additionally, even though raccoons are technically both primary consumers and secondary consumers, they are best described as being scavengers. Raccoons have very little social structure relatively; they are known as solitary animals, most likely stemming from their nocturnal behaviors. Quite often, they will be found traveling as either a family (until the young reach adolescence, at which time they leave), or an individual. They are notorious carriers of disease, can outcompete native species, and can be quite aggressive when confronted by humans. For these reasons and more, the urban raccoon is considered a pest, and in many areas there have been countless efforts to control their populations (Gehrt, S. D., et. al., 2010, Pg. 35-47). This paper will propose actions that would need to be taken in order to deter raccoons from pursuing human waste as a food source in the effort of controlling their population. Due to the raccoon’s opportunistic nature, overtime the species have foundShow MoreRelated D. Virginiana (Didelphis Marsupialis) Essay2436 Words   |  10 Pagesspecies in Africa or Europe, yet fossil species have been found in both locations (Mitchell 797). There is only one marsupial species that inhabits North America north of Mexico, Didelphis virginiana (Purves 630). Didelphis virginiana evolved from the common opossum approximately two million years ago (Yahner 14). The last topic to be discussed, by this paper, is scientific research involving Didelphis virginiana. This will include a study of the effects of habitat fragmentation on mammalianRead MoreThe Survival of the Rock Hyrax in Urban Areas 3185 Words   |  13 Pagesdefined by Randa and Yunger (2006), is the â€Å"anthropogenic conversion of land into residential, commercial, and industrial uses, which leads to pronounced landscape-level changes that significantly alter the structure and function of affected ecosystems† (p 1154). Along with global climate change, urbanisation is one of the most important human-induced rapid environmental changes (HIREC) threatening global biodiversity (Sih et al. 2011; Coleman Barclay 2011; Hubert et al. 2011; Maklakov et al. 2011;