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Born: |
April 6, 1999 |
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Female |
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Latté is an albino raccoon, which means she lacks the normal pigment (melanin) that gives an animal its natural colour. She was brought to our centre by the Ministry of Natural Resources after being confiscated from an individual who was in possession of her illegally. It is against the law to have a raccoon in captivity without a proper license. We do not know much about Latté’s history or even exactly how old she is. We do know that when she was found she was housed alone. She is a very shy individual but seems to take comfort from being with her new friends. She tends to spend more time tucked away during the day than Dawn (our other raccoon) does, probably due to her eyes being extra sensitive to light (part of being albino). Consider yourself very lucky if you catch a glimpse of her.
Latté was acquired March 2009 |
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In nature they eat fruit, berries, nuts, insects, worms, slugs, snails, mussels, oysters, seafood of all kinds, small mammals, birds (as large as geese), turtles, lizards, frogs, fish, carrion, and even the contents of a well (or not so well) closed garbage can. This nocturnal animal is found just about anywhere there is water. The Raccoon is one of the few medium sized wild mammals that has done well, and even thrived, in urban areas. |
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Raccoons mate between February and June with 3-7 young being born, with the usual number being 4, 63-65 days later. The mothers usually raise the babies alone and the babies usually overwinter with her and remain until the following spring. Female raccoons can breed at one year of age. Predators of the raccoon are cougars, wolves, coyotes, and some birds of prey. Others causes of death are road kills, hunting, starvation and disease. |
