Baby raccoons, often called kits, display features that hint at their adult characteristics, yet retain a delicate vulnerability. Understanding their specific traits offers insight into why these creatures evoke such widespread curiosity and fascination.
Distinctive Physical Traits
Baby raccoons are born with a light covering of fur, but their signature features begin to emerge quickly. A faint black mask typically appears around their eyes within the first few weeks, though it darkens and becomes more defined as they mature. This mask serves a purpose beyond aesthetics, potentially helping to reduce glare and improve vision.
Their tail, which, even in kits, shows the characteristic alternating bands of dark and light fur. Their fur is generally soft and grayish, initially thinner and silkier than an adult’s coat, providing warmth in their dens. Kits also have small, rounded ears that are initially folded at birth but perk up after a few weeks, becoming sensitive to sounds as they develop.
Size and Proportion
Newborn raccoon kits are small, typically measuring about 4.5 to 6 inches long from nose to tail and weighing only a few ounces, comparable to the size of a tennis ball. Their eyes remain closed for the first two to three weeks, and their ears are folded, leaving them completely dependent on their mother. During this early stage, their head can appear disproportionately large compared to their tiny body.
As they grow, these proportions begin to balance, though their paws may still seem relatively large. By three to four weeks old, kits weigh around 250 grams and are roughly 8.5 to 10 inches long, with their eyes opening. At five to six weeks, a kit can weigh approximately 550 grams and measure between 12 and 14 inches long, gaining the ability to walk, climb, and run. Their bodies continue to fill out, but they maintain a distinct “baby” look for several months as they develop.
Distinguishing from Other Young Animals
Identifying a baby raccoon requires careful observation, as they can sometimes be mistaken for other young wild animals. Unlike kittens, baby raccoons possess a distinct black mask across their eyes and a bushy tail with prominent rings. Kittens typically have plain tails and lack the facial mask, and while some raccoon vocalizations might sound like kitten whimpers.
Baby raccoons are also distinct from squirrel kits, being significantly larger and having the characteristic mask and ringed tail. Squirrels are much smaller rodents, and their tails are typically bushy but lack the banded pattern.
Opossum young, conversely, have light-colored faces, white to gray fur, and a thin, scaly, hairless tail. Opossums are marsupials, carrying their young in a pouch or on their back, a behavior not seen in raccoons.