Common Raccoon
Procyon lotor (Linnaeus, 1758)

Taxonomy

Description

Diagnostic characters

Ecological class

Trogloxene

Realm

Terrestrial

Distribution

Range

Known from 48 counties across 10 states.

Continent

North America

Country

United States

States and provinces

Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Virginia

Counties

Alabama

Colbert, Jackson, Madison, Morgan

Arkansas

Independence, Lawrence, Montgomery, Searcy, Stone

Florida

Jackson, Levy

Georgia

Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Floyd, Walker

Illinois

Calhoun, Carroll, Jo Daviess, Pike

Indiana

Lawrence, Monroe

Kentucky

Breckinridge, Edmonson, Pulaski, Rockcastle, Warren

Oklahoma

Adair, Delaware

Tennessee

Bedford, Blount, Claiborne, Cumberland, DeKalb, Dickson, Fentress, Franklin, Grundy, Hamilton, Marion, Montgomery, Overton, Perry, Pickett, Rhea, Stewart, Van Buren

Virginia

Lee

Conservation and management

IUCN Red List

LC Least Concern

Assessed in 2016.

NatureServe

G5 Secure

National ranks

United States

N5 Secure

Canada

N5 Secure

Subnational ranks

Indiana

S5 Secure

Tennessee

S5 Secure

Rhode Island

S5 Secure

New York

S5 Secure

Oregon

S5 Secure

New Mexico

S4 Apparently Secure

Georgia

S5 Secure

North Dakota

S5 Secure

Illinois

S5 Secure

Louisiana

S5 Secure

Nevada

S5 Secure

Michigan

S5 Secure

South Dakota

S5 Secure

Arizona

S4 Apparently Secure

Missouri

S5 Secure

Connecticut

S5 Secure

Montana

S5 Secure

Florida

S5 Secure

Utah

S5 Secure

Ohio

SNR Unranked

Kentucky

S5 Secure

Arkansas

S5 Secure

South Carolina

S5 Secure

Massachusetts

S5 Secure

Virginia

S5 Secure

Pennsylvania

S5 Secure

Wisconsin

S5 Secure

Vermont

S5 Secure

Wyoming

S5 Secure

Iowa

S5 Secure

Delaware

S5 Secure

Maine

S5 Secure

Alabama

S5 Secure

Colorado

S5 Secure

Nebraska

S5 Secure

New Jersey

S5 Secure

Mississippi

S5 Secure

New Hampshire

S5 Secure

Minnesota

SNR Unranked

Navajo Nation

S5 Secure

Oklahoma

SNR Unranked

Maryland

S5 Secure

North Carolina

S5 Secure

District of Columbia

S5 Secure

Washington

S5 Secure

Kansas

S5 Secure

Texas

S5 Secure

California

SNR Unranked

Idaho

S5 Secure

West Virginia

S5 Secure

Manitoba

S5 Secure

British Columbia

S5 Secure

New Brunswick

S5 Secure

Nova Scotia

S5 Secure

Ontario

S5 Secure

Prince Edward Island

SNA Not Applicable

Saskatchewan

S5 Secure

Quebec

S5 Secure

Alberta

S4 Apparently Secure

State and federal status

Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act

References

• Aldrich, J.M. 1897. A collection of Diptera from Indiana caves. In: Blatchley, W.S. (ed), The Fauna of Indiana Caves. Annual Report of the Indiana Department of Geology and Natural Resources (1896), pp. 186–190. Indiana Department of Geology and Natural Resources, Indianapolis, IN, USA. https://rcin.org.pl/dlibra/doccontent?id=67836.
• Bailey, V. 1933. Cave Life of Kentucky. US Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Biological Survey, Washington, DC, USA. 256 pp.
• Banta, A.M. 1907. The fauna of Mayfield's Cave. Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication 67: 1–114. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/60987.
• Bush, G. 1985. Crooked Creek Ice Cave, Rockcastle County, Kentucky. In: Hacker, C., Vore, D. & Vore, D. (eds), 1985 NSS Convention Guidebook no. 25: The Caves of South Eastern Kentucky, pp. 35–37. Ohio Valley Region, National Speleological Society.
• Causey, N.B. 1959. Some cavernicolous millipeds from the Cumberland Plateau. Journal of the Tennessee Academy of Science 34: 229–237.
• Cooper, J.E. 1975. Ecological and behavioral studies in Shelta Cave, Alabama, with emphasis on decapod crustaceans. University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA. 364 pp.
• Dunivan, J.D., Tumlison, C.R. & McDaniel, V.R. 1982. Cave fauna of Arkansas: further records. Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science 36: 87–88. https://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol36/iss1/28.
• Fenolio, D.B. 2011. 2011 Ozark aquatic subterranean wildlife surveys. Report to Oklahoma Biological Survey. Atlanta Botanical Garden, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. 6 pp.
• Fenolio, D.B., Niemiller, M.L., Slay, M.E. & Carter, E.T. 2017. Biological inventories of caves in the Ozarks of northeastern Oklahoma: December 2017 field report. Report to Oklahoma Biological Survey. San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio, Texas, USA. 17 pp.
• Fenolio, D.B. 2017. 2017 Ozark aquatic subterranean wildlife surveys. Report to Oklahoma Biological Survey. San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio, Texas, USA. 15 pp.
• Fenolio, D.B., Niemiller, M.L., Slay, M.E. & Carter, E.T. 2018. Biological inventories of caves in the Ozarks of northeastern Oklahoma: December 2018 field report. Report to Oklahoma Biological Survey. San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio, Texas, USA. 25 pp.
• Fenolio, D.B., Slay, M.E. & Niemiller, M.L. 2023. Biological inventories of caves in the Ozarks of northeastern Oklahoma: December 2023 field report. Report to Oklahoma Biological Survey. San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio, Texas, USA. 24 pp.
• Fenolio, D.B., Slay, M.E. & Niemiller, M.L. 2023. Biological inventories of caves in the Ozarks of northeastern Oklahoma: December 2022 field report. Report to Oklahoma Biological Survey. San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio, Texas, USA. 24 pp.
• Fenolio, D.B., Slay, M.E., Niemiller, M.L. & Richard, K. 2024. Biological inventories of caves in the Ozarks of northeastern Oklahoma: December 2024 field report. Report to Oklahoma Biological Survey. San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio, Texas, USA. 17 pp.
• Franz, R., Bauer, J. & Morris, T. 1994. Review of biologically significant caves and their faunas in Florida and south Georgia. Brimleyana 20: 1–109. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/229726.
• Heath, D.R., Saugey, D.A. & Heidt, G.A. 1986. Abandoned mine fauna of the Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas: vertebrate taxa. Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science 40: 33–36.
• Hobbs, III., H.H. 1994. Assessment of the ecological resources of the caves of Russell Cave National Monument, Jackson County, Alabama and of selected caves at the Lookout Mountain Unit of Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Military Park, Dade County, Georgia and Hamilton County, Tennessee. 200 pp.
• Hubricht, L. 1962. New species of Helicodiscus from the eastern United States. The Nautilus 75: 102–107. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8283022.
• Jones, W.B. & Varnedoe, W.W. 1968. Caves of Madison County, Alabama. Geological Survey of Alabama Circular 52: 1–177.
• Lamb, J. & Wyckoff, G. 2010. White-nose syndrome monitoring and response report for Tennessee. Tennessee Bat Working Group. 24 pp.
• Lawson, K.M., Schotz, A.R., Jenkins, A.J., Armbruster, J.W., Black, C., Callahan, M., Goertzen, L., Hansen, C., Stephen, C.D.R., Werneke, D., Mendonca, M. & Molina, E. 2021. Planning level survey of Redstone Arsenal for at-risk species and ecologically significant communities. Environmental Management Division, U.S. Army Garrison, Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, Alabama, USA. 402 pp.
• Lewis, J.J. 2004. Interstate 66 karst faunal study. Environmental Impact Statement. 17 pp.
• Lewis, J.J. 2005. A biological inventory of caves of the Cumberland Plateau. Tennessee Chapter Cave Program, The Nature Conservancy, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. 156 pp.
• Lewis, J.J. & Lewis, S.L. 2005. Inventory of the subterranean fauna of Tims Ford State Park, Franklin County, Tennessee. Tennesee Natural Heritage Program, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. 28 pp.
• Lewis, J.J. & Lewis, S.L. 2007. A biological reconnaissance of selected caves in the Highland Rim area of central Tennessee. Tennessee Chapter Cave Program, The Nature Conservancy, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. 42 pp.
• Linzey, D.W. 1995. Mammals of Great Smoky Mountains National Park - 1995 update. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 111: 1–81.
• Linzey, D.W. 2016. Mammals of Great Smoky Mountains National Park: 2016 revision. Southeastern Naturalist 15, Monograph 8: 1–93.
• Malcolm, D.R. & Chamberlin, J.C. 1961. The pseudoscorpion genus Kleptochthonius Chamberlin (Chelonethida, Chthoniidae). American Museum Novitates 2063: 1–35. https://digitallibrary.amnh.org/items/a8f690cd-8350–4296–8094–3b4766183f21.
• Marshall, S.A. & Peck, S.B. 1984. Distribution of cave-dwelling Sphaeroceridae (Diptera) of eastern North America. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Ontario 115: 37–41.
• McDaniel, V.R. & Gardner, J.E. 1977. Cave fauna of Arkansas: vertebrate taxa. Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science 31: 68–71. https://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol31/iss1/22.
• McGregor, S.W., Rheams, K.F., O'Neil, P.E., Moser, P.H. & Blackwood, R. 1994. Biological, geological, and hydrological investigations in Bobcat, Matthews, and Shelta caves and other selected caves in north Alabama. Geological Survey of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA. 226 pp.
• McGregor, S.W., O'Neil, P.E., Rheams, K.F., Moser, P.H. & Blackwood, R. 1997. Biological, geological, and hydrological investigations in Bobcat, Matthews, and Shelta caves and other selected caves in north Alabama. Geological Survey of Alabama Bulletin 166: 1–198.
• McGregor, S.W. & O'Neil, P.E. 2000. Investigations of physical and biological conditions in the vicinity of Bobcat Cave, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, relative to the Alabama cave shrimp (Atyidae: Palaemonias alabamae) 1999–2000. Geological Survey of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA. 49 pp.
• Niemiller, M.L., Zigler, K.S., Hinkle, A., Stephen, C.D.R., Cramphorn, B., Higgs, J., Mann, N., Miller, B.T., Niemiller, K.D.K., Smallwood, K. & Hardy, J. 2023. The Crystal-Wonder Cave System: a new hotspot of subterranean biodiversity in the southern Cumberland Plateau of south-central Tennessee, USA. Diversity 15: 801. doi:10.3390/d15070801
• Niemiller, M.L., Anderson, C.L., Maxwell, E.C., Midgette, H., Quering, C., Richards, M., Wilson, K. & Wirwa, N. 2025. A noteworthy range extension of the federally endangered Alabama Cave Shrimp (Palaemonias alabamae) south of the Tennessee River in northern Alabama. Southeastern Naturalist 24: N47-N58. doi:10.1656/058.024.0403
• Poulson, T.L. 1961. Cave adaptation in amblyopsid cavefishes. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. 185 pp. doi:10.7302/9847
• Rheams, K.F., Moser, P.H. & McGregor, S.W. 1992. Geologic, hydrologic, and biologic investigations in Arrowwood, Bobcat, Matthews, and Shelta caves and selected caves, Madison, County, Alabama. Geological Survey of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA. 262 pp.
• Trumbore, L.E., Reynolds, R.J., Thomas, S.C., Orndorff, W., Cramphorn, B., Gladstone, N.S., Harden, C.W., Lewis, J.J., Milne, M.A., Ober, K.A., Shear, W.A., Stephen, C.D.R. & Zigler, K.S. 2024. Cave biodiversity of Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 86: 13–24. doi:10.4311/2022LSC0116
• Tuttle, M.D. 1977. Gating as a means of protecting cave dwelling bats. 1976 National Cave Management Symposium Proceedings: 77–82.
• Wallace, R.L. 1984. Biological survey report of Great Smoky Mountains National Park caves. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, U.S. National Park Service, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, USA. 33 pp.
• Wallace, R.L. 1990. Biological survey report of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park caves. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, U.S. National Park Service, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, USA. 34 pp.
• Webb, D.W., Taylor, S.J. & Krejca, J.K. 1993. The biological resources of Illinois caves and other subterranean environments. Illinois Natural History Survey, Champaign, Illinois, USA. 143 pp.
• Zigler, K.S., Niemiller, M.L., Stephen, C.D.R., Ayala, B.N., Milne, M.A., Gladstone, N.S., Engel, A.S., Jensen, J.B., Camp, C.D., Ozier, J.C. & Cressler, A. 2020. Biodiversity from caves and other subterranean habitats of Georgia, USA. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 82: 125–167. doi:10.4311/2019LSC0125

How to cite this account

Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.

Spotted something wrong on this page? Report a correction. Accounts are compiled from many sources and corrections from people who know the group are the most useful email we get.