Raccoons are "well-rounded," often plump, with reddish brown to grey fur. Adults weigh an average of 15 pounds, and are readily identified by alternating rings on the tail and characteristic black "mask."

Raccoons are important furbearers, providing income and recreation to hunters and trappers in New York State. Many people enjoy watching or photographing raccoons. Some people feed them, but this is unnecessary and unwise. Keeping raccoons as pets may be harmful to both humans and raccoons, and is illegal.

Raccoons are among the most widespread mammals in New York State. The adaptable raccoon can be found everywhere, from the most remote forest to the crowded inner city. Raccoon populations often are more dense in large cities than in the wild, but abundance varies widely in different types of habitat and different parts of the State.

Raccoons feed mainly at night. They eat fruit, nuts, berries, small animals and insects, and also will feed on pet food, garbage, and garden crops.

Female raccoons look for den sites in late winter. Litters of one to seven young are born in April and May. Young raccoons open their eyes about three weeks after birth, and often announce their presence with mewing, twittering or crying sounds. They nurse for about six weeks, then leave the den to follow the mother until September or early October when they disperse and establish their own territories.

The striped skunk is an interesting component of New York's wildlife assortment. It is about the size of a house cat and has a potent musk that often overshadows the beauty of its glossy and durable fur. Formerly a member of the weasel family (with mink, otter, fisher, marten), skunks have now been classified into their own family, "Mephitidae". Like the more glamorous members of the weasel family, the skunk also has glossy and durable fur that can be dyed uniformly black for exquisite garment trimming.

The skunk's best known feature is its ability to squirt an extremely potent and disagreeable secretion at potential attackers. The Latin name for skunk, Mephitis mephitis, means "double foul odor."

The skunk lives in a variety of habitats but prefers open areas. Its numbers usually decline as abandoned fields and pastures become forested. However, roadside and lawn mowing, or any maintenance practice which prevents the development of a forest canopy, favors the continued existence of skunks. Residential areas that have both lawns and large, mast producing shade trees often provide optimal habitat for skunks.

Striped skunks mate in February and early March. Females give birth in May, often in woodchuck burrows, to an average litter of six. It is not unusual to see a female skunk with a line of little black and white copies following her across a damp pasture or lawn on an early July morning.

Skunks forage at night or at dawn for a variety of foods including berries, grasses, nuts and other vegetable material, as well as worms, insects, grubs and the nestlings of birds, mice and cottontail rabbits. They also prey on woodchucks and other young animals in burrows. Skunks often leave holes in the ground where they forage for insects or tear apart ground nests of small animals.

Although skunks in New York retreat to winter dens and remain inactive for extended periods, they do not hibernate. Males in particular are likely to be active aboveground periodically. They may be active even during cold weather, especially during the breeding season.

Skunks are vulnerable to a variety of internal and external parasites. They also can get and spread rabies and other wildlife diseases. Skunks have been the most commonly confirmed rabies species, other than raccoons, during the spread of raccoon rabies throughout Southern New York. Coyotes, foxes, owls, bobcat and fisher will prey on skunks, and collisions with cars are a common cause of skunk deaths.

The striped skunk can be a difficult neighbor because of its fearlessness and effective weaponry. One of the most common skunk complaints, a strong odor of skunk essence during the nights of early fall, often is the result of inadequate home maintenance and of allowing dogs to roam free at night.

This happens in early fall because skunks search for cubby holes to spend the winter. Damaged building foundations and spaces underneath porches serve this purpose well. A free roaming dog often aggravates the situation by chasing the prowling skunk. The resultant "dog training lesson" can offend a whole neighborhood. The remedy is to close or screen all holes and crawl spaces, and to keep dogs confined.

An interesting side note is that house cats tolerate the presence of skunks. In the days of small dairy farms, several dozen barn cats often ate from the same pan of milk after each milking. Many a farmer arrived to pour the dregs of the milk strainer into the cat dish and found that one of the cats had a broad tail and a characteristic white "V" across its back. For this reason, it is not wise to feed a house cat outside your home after dark.