Raccoon spotted in Halwell

A raccoon was spotted in Halwell on Friday morning. 

Ellie Weston caught a short video of the raccoon at 2am on Friday, 2 February. 

Raccoons are native to North America and not a usual sight in the South Hams. 

Raccoons are the largest of the procyonid family (coatis, ringtails) and grow up to 70cm in length, plus their tail. 

Its gray-ish coat mostly consists of dense underfur, which insulates it against cold weather. Three of the raccoon's most distinctive features are its extremely dexterous front paws, its facial mask, and its ringed tail.

The raccoon is noted for its intelligence, as studies show that it is able to remember the solution to tasks for at least three years.

It is usually nocturnal and omnivorous, eating about 40% invertebrates, 33% plants, and 27% vertebrates.

The original habitats of the raccoon are deciduous and mixed forests, but due to their adaptability, they have extended their range to mountainous areas, coastal marshes, and urban areas, where some homeowners consider them to be pests.

As a result of escapes and deliberate introductions in the mid-20th century, raccoons are now also distributed across central Europe, the Caucasus, and Japan.

In Europe, the raccoon is included since 2016 in the list of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern. This implies that this species cannot be "imported, bred, transported, commercialized, or intentionally released into the environment in the whole of the European Union."