Raccoon Facts

As “woodland critters” raccoons are perhaps the most iconic, typically found prowling in the wild as well as finding their way in to suburban, real estate developments.

The 1969 Disney live-action feature entitled Rascal focused on the story of a child meeting up with a baby raccoon, engaging on fun-filled adventures with the little tyke.

Given their cute and cuddly looks, one would think that animal lovers would keep them as pets, but as the facts would prove, they are not the best pet options to have in homes and households.

Below are some facts about the raccoon, with reasons which justify their un-ideal standing as pets as well as some fascinating facts about them.

Parasites – Raccoons are known to carry different diseases, with raccoon roundworms – a microscopic parasite – being the most notorious.

As a threat to the health and well being of humans, this parasite is known to cause blindness and even death, something which any homeowner wouldn’t want to risk by brining a wild or stray raccoon into his or her home.

Cat-like Abilities – Though not exactly related to cats, raccoons are known to have cat-like abilities, with their ability to easily land from 35 to 40 feet heights.

Unlike cats though, raccoons have a “tactile” sense, which is defined by their human-like forepaws which they can use to accomplish all sorts of tasks such as foraging for food. Also, unlike cats, a raccoon’s tail takes up as much as 52% of its overall length, measuring as long as 405mm.

16-Year Lifespans – Raccoons are known to live as long as 16 years in the wild, but the longest living raccoon is reported to have lived as long as 21 years in captivity.

Swimming – Just as they are well-built for land-based terrains, raccoons are also adept swimmers.

However, they are not exactly fond of swimming, since their fur isn’t “waterproof” in the sense that their wet fur tends to add more weight.

 

Lemurs

Lemurs are typically mistaken to be monkeys, but this assumption doesn’t define them as such, in the sense that the lemurs are not descendants of ancient primates, even if they do bear certain similarities with them.

Found in the island of Madagascar, the 2005 animated hit Madagascar doesn’t miss on its Madagascar-based premise, a credit to the movie’s creators.

Telling the story of how a group of New York Zoo animals managed to find themselves in the island of Madagascar, the adventures of Alex the lion, Marty the zebra, Melman the Giraffe, and Gloria the hippo are the main focus in Madagascar, where the four encounter a group of merry lemurs who are simply out to live the “good island life”.

Though not exactly responsible for sparking interests on lemurs, the movie did manage to stoke the fires of interest in them, effectively putting lemurs on the map.

As creatures, all types of lemurs share a set of basal primal traits, characterized by tails and divergent digits found in their hands and feet. Highly social and very interactive, these characteristics have once made them popular as exotic pets, but their status as a pet is well guarded by officially sanctioned wildlife conservation agencies.

The fact that they were quite popular as pets has actually driven different organizations into officially monitoring and controlling lemur populations, giving focus on emphasis on how properly housed they are, how pet owners are in the capacity to provide them with their dietary staples, etc.

Though it is not generally illegal to keep lemurs as pets, there are certain considerations and restrictions involved in keeping them, something which someone who is entertaining the thought of getting a lemur should be well aware of.

Do you own a lemur? What did you have to do to legally keep it?

 Lemurs Video

 

Squirrels

Squirrels, with their bushy tails and cute ears, are part of the Sciuridae family of small and medium-sized rodents, often described to be one of the cutest creatures found in the wild.

In 1957, Walt Disney Studios released a feature entitled Perri, which focused on the life of squirrels as perceived through the experiences of Perri, a female squirrel. The feature explored the different natural predators and enemies known to squirrels, as it also looked into the courtship rituals and processes known to happen when young male and female squirrels meet.

As creatures of the wild, the squirrel’s cuteness factor is quite well established, leading many to think that the prospect of keeping them as household pets is feasible.

However, though keeping squirrels as pets is possible, domesticating them in the sense that squirrels can be trained by anyone to be at home in the house isn’t comparably ideal against keeping other domestic pets like cats or dogs.

As cute as they are, squirrels are actually not easy to domesticate, and while they do bear significant cuteness factors, they are also known to carry certain diseases and viruses like rabies.

Though there are cases when squirrels do manage to adjust well in homes and with households, the condition can’t really be considered as common. With most squirrels more inclined to roam free – not to be caged in – discouraged “pet” squirrel owners have confessed certain frustrations in how their “courtship” with squirrels are going.

Doubtless, squirrels do bear certain physical traits which attract people to them, planting the idea of keeping them as pets. But as real life has its own terms on how Mother Nature’s creatures’ have their own personalities and traits, the squirrel remains to be more inclined for the great outdoors, rather than be kept as a family pet.

 Squirrels Video