Natural Predators of the Common Raccoon (Procyon lotor)

Factual Questions
1

I am trying to compose a comprehensive list of the natural predators of the Common Raccoon (Procyon lotor). For the purposes of this list, I have established the following criteria:

  1. Natural predators excludes man, domesticated animals, feral domesticated animals, and invasive species.
  2. Only wild Common Raccoons in their natural range are to be considered.
  3. Animals that kill Common Raccoons but never eat them are excluded.
  4. Parasites are excluded.
  5. For the purposes of this list, a predator is included if it is more likely than not that a successful act of predation has occurred at least once in the last 10,000 years.
  6. Predation of newborn and juvenile Common Raccoons is included.

I have been thinking about army ants but I believe there are several hundred species of army ants and I have been unable to locate a good reference on army ant species and distribution.

I am certain my current list is over-inclusive. I welcome any valid argument to exclude any animal from the list. Can anyone think of some additional predators?

Here is the list (in no particular order):

  1. Mountain Lion (Puma concolor)
  2. Bobcat (Lynx rufus)
  3. Canada Lynx (Lynx canadenis)
  4. Jaguar (Panthera onca)
  5. Jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi)
  6. Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis)
  7. Margay (Leopardus wiedii)
  8. American Black Bear (Ursus americanus)
  9. Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos)
  10. Wolverine (Gulo gulo)
  11. American Marten (Martes americana)
  12. Fisher (Pekania pennanti)
  13. Orca (Orcinus orca)
  14. Bull Shark (Carcharhinus leucas)
  15. American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus)
  16. American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)
  17. Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)
  18. Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
  19. Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus)
  20. Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
  21. Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
  22. Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo regalis)
  23. Sharp-Shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus)
  24. Mississippi Kite (Ictinia mississippiensis)
  25. Barred Hawk (Leucopternis princeps)
  26. Bicolored Hawk (Accipiter bicolor)
  27. Black-and-white Hawk-eagle (Spizaetus melanoleucus)
  28. Black-collared Hawk (Busarellus nigricollis)
  29. Black hawk-Eagle (Spizaetus tyrannus)
  30. Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus)
  31. Common Black Hawk (Buteogallus anthracinus)
  32. Crane Hawk (Geranospiza caerulescens)
  33. Crested Eagle (Morphnus guianensis)
  34. Double-toothed Kite (Harpagus bidentatus)
  35. Gray Hawk (Buteo plagiatus)
  36. Gray-lined Hawk (Buteo nitidus)
  37. Gray-headed Kite (Leptodon cayanensis)
  38. Great Black Hawk (Buteogallus urubitinga)
  39. Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja)
  40. Harris’s Hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus)
  41. Hook-billed Kite (Chondrohierax uncinatus)
  42. Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis)
  43. Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius)
  44. Pearl Kite (Gampsonyx swainsonii)
  45. Ornate Hawk-eagle (Spizaetus ornatus)
  46. Plumbeous Kite (Ictinia plumbea)
  47. Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)
  48. Roadside Hawk (Buteo magnirostris)
  49. Savanna Hawk (Buteogallus meridionalis)
  50. Semiplumbeous Hawk (Leucopternis semiplumbeus)
  51. Short-tailed Hawk (Buteo brachyurus)
  52. Slender-billed Kite (Helicolestes hamatus)
  53. Solitary Eagle (Harpyhaliaetus solitarius)
  54. Swainson’s Hawk (Buteo swainsoni)
  55. Swallow-tailed Kite (Elanoides forficatus)
  56. Tiny Hawk (Accipiter superciliosus)
  57. White Hawk (Leucopternis albicollis)
  58. White-tailed Hawk (Buteo albicaudatus)
  59. White-tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus)
  60. Zone-tailed Hawk (Buteo albonotatus)
  61. Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus)
  62. Coyote (Canis latrans)
  63. Gray Wolf (Canis lupus)
  64. Red Wolf (Canis rufus) [taxonomy disputed, may be a subspecies of Canis lupus]
  65. Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)
  66. Grey Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus)
  67. Kit Fox (Vulpes macrotis)
  68. Swift Fox (Vulpes velox)
  69. Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox)
  70. Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus)
  71. Neotropical River Otter (Lontra longicaudis)
  72. Crab-eating Raccoon (Procyon cancrivorus)
  73. Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus)
  74. Blue Catfish (Ictalurus furcatus)
  75. Flathead Catfish (Pylodictis olivaris)
  76. American Badger (Taxidea taxus)
  77. Least Weasel (Mustela nivalis)
  78. Black-footed Ferret (Mustela nigripes)
  79. Long-tailed Weasel (Mustela frenata)
  80. Stoat (Mustela ermenia)
  81. Common Raccoon (Procyon lotor)
  82. North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis)
  83. Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris)
  84. Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus)
  85. Bull Snake (Pituophis catenifer)
  86. Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)
  87. Queretaran Dusky Rattlesnake (Crotalus aquilus)
  88. Mexican West Coast Rattlesnake (Crotalus basiliscus)
  89. Sidewinder (Crotalus cerastes)
  90. Baja California Rattlesnake (Crotalus enyo)
  91. Eastern Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix)
  92. Water Moccasin (Agkistrodon piscivorus)
  93. Broad-banded Copperhead (Agkistrodon laticinctus)
  94. Mexican Small-headed Rattlesnake (Crotalus intermedius)
  95. Arizona Black Rattlesnake (Crotalus cergerus)
  96. Autlán Rattlesnake (Crotalus lannomi)
  97. Rock Rattlesnake (Crotalus Lepidus)
  98. Speckled Rattlesnake (Crotalus mitchellii)
  99. Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake (Crotalus pyurrhus)
  100. Panamint Rattlesnake (Crotalus stephensi)
  101. Western Black-tailed Rattlesnake (Crotalus molossus)
  102. Eastern Black-tailed Rattlesnake (Crotalus orantus)
  103. Western Rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus)
  104. Mexican Lancehead Rattlesnake (Crotalus polystictus)
  105. Twin-spotted Rattlesnake (Crotalus pricei)
  106. Tancitaran Dusky Rattlesnake (Crotalus pusillus)
  107. Red Diamond Rattlesnake (Crotalus ruber)
  108. Mojave Rattlesnake (Crotalus scutulatus)
  109. Middle American Rattlesnake (Crotalus simus)
  110. Long-tailed Rattlesnake (Crotalus stejnegeri)
  111. Tiger Rattlesnake (Crotalus tigris)
  112. Tortuga Island Rattlesnake (Crotalus tortugensis)
  113. Totoncan Rattlesnake (Crotalus totnacus)
  114. Cross-banded Mountain Rattlesnake (Crotalus transversus)
  115. Dusky Rattlesnake (Crotalus tansversus)
  116. Prairie Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis)
  117. Ridge-nosed Rattlesnake (Crotalus willardi)
  118. Eastern Massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus)
  119. Western Massasauga (Sistrurus tergiminus)
  120. Pygmy Rattlesnake (Sistrurus miliarius)
  121. Mexican Pygmy Rattlesnake (Sistrurus ravus)
  122. Fer-de-lance (Bothrops asper)
  123. Collared Peccary (Pecari tajacu)
  124. White-lipped Peccary (Tayassu pecari)
  125. Barn Owl (Tyto alba)
  126. Barred Owl (Strix varia)
  127. Boreal Owl (Aegolius funereus)
  128. Brown Hawk-Owl (Ninox scutulata)
  129. Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia)
  130. Eastern Screech-Owl (Megascops asio)
  131. Elf Owl (Micrathene whitneyi)
  132. Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium brasilianum)
  133. Flammulated Owl (Psiloscops flammeolus)
  134. Great Gray Owl (Strix nebulosa)
  135. Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)
  136. Long-eared Owl (Asio otus)
  137. Mountain Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium gnoma)
  138. Northern Hawk Owl (Surnia ulula)
  139. Northern Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium californicum)
  140. Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus)
  141. Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)
  142. Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus)
  143. Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis)
  144. Stygian Owl (Asio stygius)
  145. Western Screech-Owl (Megascops kennicottii)
  146. Whiskered Screech-Owl ( Megascops trichopsis)
  147. Balsas Screech Owl (Megascops seductus)
  148. Bare-shanked Screech Owl (Megascops clarki)
  149. Bearded Screech Owl (Megascops barbarus)
  150. Black-and-white Owl (Ciccaba nigrolineata)
  151. Central American Pygmy Owl (Glaucidium griseiceps
  152. Crested Owl (Lophostrix cristata)
  153. Fulvous Owl (Strix fulvescens)
  154. Mottled Owl (Ciccaba virgata)
  155. Pacific Screech Owl (Megascops cooperi)
  156. Spectacled Owl (Pulsatrix perspicillata)
  157. Striped Owl (Pseudoscops clamator)
  158. Tropical Screech Owl (Megascops choliba)
  159. Unspotted Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius ridgwayi)
  160. Vermiculated Screech Owl (Megascops guatemalae)
  161. Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana)
  162. Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentine)
  163. Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii)
  164. Suwannee Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys suwanniensis)
  165. Northern Crested Caracara (Caracara cheriway)
  166. Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)
  167. American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)
  168. Aplomado Falcon (Falco femoralis)
  169. Barred Forest Falcon (Micrastur ruficollis)
  170. Bat Falcon (Falco rufigularis)
  171. Collared Forest Falcon (Micrastur semitorquatus)
  172. Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus)
  173. Laughing Falcon (Herpetotheres cachinnans)
  174. Merlin (Falco columbarius)
  175. Orange-breasted Falcon (Falco deiroleucus)
  176. Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)
  177. Prairie Falcon (Falco mexicanus)
  178. Red-footed Falcon (Falco vespertinus)
  179. Slaty-backed Forest Falcon (Micrastur mirandollei)
  180. Yellow-headed Caracara (Milvago chimachima)
  181. American Hog-nosed Skunk (Conepatus leuconotus)
  182. Striped Hog-nosed Skunk (Conepatus semistriatus)
  183. Hooded Skunk (Mephitis macroura)
  184. Striped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis)
  185. Southern Spotted Skunk (Spiogale angustifrons)
  186. Western Spotted Skunk (Spilogale gracilis)
  187. Eastern Spotted Skunk (Spilogale putorius)
  188. Pygmy Spotted Skunk (Spilogale pygmaea)
  189. Oncilla (Leopardus tigrinus)
  190. Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)
  191. American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)
  192. Eastern Indigo Snake (Drymarchon couperi)
  193. Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor)
  194. Chacoan Lancehead (Bothriopsis punctate)
  195. Mussurana (Clelia clelia)
  196. Equatorial Mussurana (Clelia equatoriana)
  197. Mexican Snake Eater (Clelia scutalina)
  198. Northern Annulated Tree Boa (Corallus annulatus)
  199. Central American Tree Boa (Corallus ruschenbergerii)
  200. Chacoan Bushmaster (Lachesis acrochorda)
  201. Black-headed Bushmaster (Lachesis melanocephala)
  202. Central American Bushmaster (Lachesis stenophrys)
  203. Green Vine Snake (Oxybelis fulgidus)
  204. Puffing Snake (Phrynonax poecilonotus)
  205. Rainforest Hognosed Pitviper (Porthidium nasutum)
  206. Slender Hognosed Pitviper (Porthidium ophryomegas)
  207. Chicken Snake (Spilotes pullatus)
  208. Western Lyre Snake (Trimorphodon biscutatus)
  209. Mexican Lyre Snake (Trimorphodon tau)
  210. Cacomistle (Bassariscus sumichrasti)\
  211. Coatimundi (Nasua narica)
  212. Ringtail (Bassariscus astutus)
  213. Northern Olingo (Bassaricyon gabbii)
  214. Western Lowland Olingo (Bassaricyon medius)
  215. American Mink (Neovison vison)
  216. Rubber Boa (Charina bottae)
  217. Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata)
  218. Western Rat Snake (Pantherophis obsoletus)
  219. Eastern Rat Snake (Pantherophis alleghaniensis)
  220. Gray Rat Snake (Pantherophis spiloides)
  221. Baird’s Rat Snake (Pantherophis bairdi)
  222. Great Plains Rat Snake (Pantherophis emoryi)
  223. Western Fox Snake (Pantherophis ramspotti)
  224. Eastern Fox Snake (Pantherophis vulpinus)
  225. Red Corn Snake (Pantherophis guttatus)
  226. Slowinski’s Corn Snake (Pantherophis slowinskii)
  227. Glossy Snake (Arizona elegans)
  228. Middle American Indigo Snake (Drymarchon melanurus)
  229. Speckled Racer (Drymobius margaritiferus)
  230. Gray-banded Kingsnake (Lampropeltis alterna)
  231. Prairie Kingsnake (Lampropeltis calligaster)
  232. South Florida Mole Kingsnake (Lampropeltis occipitolineata)
  233. Northern Mole Kingsnake (Lampropeltis rhombomaculata)
  234. Eastern Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula)
  235. California Kingsnake (Lampropeltis californiae)
  236. Speckled Kingsnake (Lampropeltis holbrooki)
  237. Eastern Black Kingsnake (Lampropeltis nigra)
  238. Desert Kingsnake (Lampropeltis splendida)
  239. Florida Kingsnake (Lampropeltis floridana)
  240. Apalachicola Kingsnake (Lampropeltis meansi)
  241. Western Black Kingsnake (Lampropeltis nigrita)
  242. Arizona Mountain Kingsnake (Lampropeltis pyromelana)
  243. Madrean Mountain Kingsnake (Lampropeltis knoblochi)
  244. Eastern Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum)
  245. Mexican Milk Snake (Lampropeltis annulata)
  246. Western Milk Snake (Lampropeltis gentilis)
  247. Scarlet Kingsnake (Lampropeltis elapsoides)
  248. California Mountain Kingsnake (Lampropeltis zonata)
  249. Coast Mountain Kingsnake (Lampropeltis multifasciata)
  250. Pine Snake (Pituophis melanoleucus)
  251. Louisiana Pine Snake (Pituophis ruthveni)
  252. Long-nosed Snake (Rhinocheilus lecontei)
  253. Eastern Patch-nosed Snake (Salvadora grahamiae)
  254. Western Patch-nosed Snake (Salvadora hexalepis)
  255. Green Rat Snake (Senticolis triaspis)
  256. Sonoran Lyre Snake (Trimorphodon lambda)
  257. California Lyre Snake (Trimorphodon lyrophanes)
  258. Texas Lyre Snake (Trimorphodon vilkinsonii)
  259. Plains Hog-nosed Snake (Heterodon nasicus)
  260. Dusty Hog-nosed Snake (Heterodon gloydi)
  261. Mexican Hog-nosed Snake (Heterodon kennerlyi)
  262. Eastern Hog-nosed Snake (Heterodon platirhinos)
  263. Southern Hog-nosed Snake (Heterodon simus)
  264. Alligator Gar (Atractosteus spatula)
  265. Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus)
  266. Common Raven (Corvus corax)
  267. American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
  268. Northwestern Crow (Corvus caurinus)
  269. Fish Crow (Corvus ossifragus)
  270. Chihuahuan Raven (Corvus cryptoleucus)
  271. Tamaulipas Crow (Corvus imparatus)
  272. Sinaloan Crow (Corvus sinaloae)
  273. Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia)
  274. Yellow-billed Magpie (Pica nutalli)
  275. Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum)
  276. Mexican Beaded Lizard (Heloderma horridum)
2

According to Wikipedia:

To sum up:

bobcats
coyotes
great horned owls
american black bear
cougar (the quadruped kind)
alligators
bald/golden eagles
fishers
jaguars
wolves
lynxes
eagle owls

3

If the Channel Catfish is big enough, and the raccoon is small enough, but that might be true for a lot of animal combinations.

4

What an interesting project.

Some of your birds strike me as too small. (I know you said newborns are included). And black vulture is almost exclusively a scavenger.

Are you including predators in the raccoon’s introduced ranges? There are populations in the Caribbean, Russia, Japan and Germany, among others, usually escapees from fur farms.

5

With such broad criteria, it would be difficult to exclude almost any predator at all of any size. American Kestrels, for example, almost never take raccoons (they eat mostly insects, small birds, and rodents), but I couldn’t exclude the possibility that sometime somewhere one hasn’t killed a newborn raccoon.

Only the dozen or so species in the genus Eciton would be large enough to be a problem. Even so, they would at most be able to kill newborns they were able to swarm in a nest. They would not be a threat to an adult raccoon.

If you are going to include animals that could kill, but not eat, a raccoon, there would be a number of wasps, ants, tarantulas, and scorpions whose sting or bite could be fatal to a baby raccoon.

6

araminty:

Unlike the turkey vulture. which is almost exclusively a scavenger, the black vulture has been known to feed on live prey from time to time. I have seen a cite for this somewhere at one time, but I don’t really remember where right now. I will try to find it if you are interested.

Also, I am only including Common Raccoons in their natural range. For example, descendants of escaped Nazi raccoons in Germany (I am not making this up) are excluded.

7

This is correct. Black Vultures will occasionally kill young or incapacitated prey.

8

I now want to see a catfish fighting a raccoon.

9

It’s a good thing you excluded “man” because otherwise your list would have been pretty long. :slight_smile:

10

I just thought of one more if extinct animals are included. The extinct Dire Wolf (Canis dirus) may have just barely survived into the arbitrary 10,000 year window in my criteria.

11

What about the uncommon raccoon?

12

That would be the Cozumel Raccoon,found only on Cozumel Island off Mexico.

13

I thought about the Cozumel Raccoon (Procyon pygmaeus). Has a Common Raccoon ever gone to Cozumel? Would Cozumel be outside of the natural range of the Common Raccoon? Has a Cozumel Raccoon ever gone to the mainland? Would that make the Cozumel Raccoon an invasive species on the mainland? 10,000 years is a long time. Should I add it to the list?

14

Cozumel is an oceanic island, that is, it was never united to the mainland when sea levels were lower during the Pleistocene. The ancestor of the Cozumel Raccoon must have arrived there over water, which must have been a rare event. The result of introducing modern Common Raccoons could be the extinction of the severely endangered Cozumel Raccoon due to introduction of diseases or competition. Island forms rarely do very well in competition with related mainland forms.

Since I don’t know what the purpose of your list is, I can’t say if the Cozumel Raccoon should be added to it. But adding it probably wouldn’t add any more predators.

15

Feral hogs?

16

You forgot car vs racoon.

17

… For the purposes of this list, I have established the following criteria:

  1. Natural predators excludes man, domesticated animals, feral domesticated animals, and invasive species. …
18

The difficulty here is how do we show that it is impossible for an animal to prey upon a raccoon … consider a mule deer seeing a newborn lying on the ground, cautiously approaching it (stalk), running the last few yards (chase), stepping on it (pounce), killing it (kill) and finally tasting it (eating) … how do we show this never happened anywhere in the past 10,000 years? … the catch here is that it need only happen once, so no matter how low the probability of this occurring in a given year, with enough years the probability of occurring just once approaches certainty …

Perhaps a clear definition of “natural predator” is needed … because over 10,000 years we’ll need to include obligate herbivores, these obtain no nutritional value from meat, but this doesn’t prevent them from trying …

19

Does anyone know of a standard definition of “predator” that is widely accepted in the biological sciences?

20

I don’t mean to be rude, and my entire knowledge of raccoons are the ones I see in my yard and garden or on the road dead. I think maybe you’re overthinking this thing. Unless you are writing thedefinitive paper on raccoons I cannot see where this is going. And if you are an expert why are you asking questions a message board? Seems like you could get better info somewhere else. Just saying.