Raccoon
Procyon lotor
A medium-sized procyonid with a black facial mask and a ringed tail. It is not native to Georgia; it is introduced and established.
At a glance
Key facts in one look
Diet
Omnivore
Status in Georgia
Introduced
Size
40–70 cm
Habitat
Forest / water edge
Family
Procyonidae
Conservation
LC / invasive
Human interaction: It has no venom. It can bite, especially if cornered or defending young. A bite or saliva can carry rabies risk; documented rabies sources in Georgia on this site mainly concern other wild carnivores, not a national study of this species. Do not feed it and do not pick it up. Keep dogs away. In an unprotected yard it may take poultry, eggs, or fruit. In the native range the raccoon roundworm (Baylisascaris procyonis) is well known; presence of that parasite in Georgia is not confirmed on this page.
Overview
What is Raccoon
The raccoon (Procyon lotor) is a mammal in the raccoon family (Procyonidae). It is native to North and Central America. There is no documented direct release in Georgia: it was introduced to the Caucasus in Azerbaijan in 1941 and later spread into eastern Georgia. At species level, head–body length is often about 40–70 cm, the tail 20–40 cm, and mass often about 4–9 kg. It has no venom. The main human risk is a bite and pathogens, not poison. IUCN lists it globally as Least Concern. It is not on Georgia’s 2014 Red List. Here it is treated as an invasive species, not a conservation target.
Last updated
Gallery
Raccoon in photos
Photo: Rhododendrites
Central Park ·
Photo: D. Gordon E. Robertson
Ottawa ·
Photo: Darkone
Photo: Gormo
Harz ·
Photo: Mirza Khinkiladze
Lagodekhi Protected Areas ·
Photo: Gio Tatulishvili
Photo: Gio Tatulishvili
Photo: Giga Shushtakashvili
Sighnaghi ·
Identification
How to identify Raccoon
A medium-sized, short-legged omnivore with a black facial mask, a pointed muzzle, and a bushy tail with several dark rings. It is introduced in Georgia.
- 01
At species level head–body is often about 40–70 cm, the tail 20–40 cm, shoulder height about 23–30 cm, and mass often about 4–9 kg; heavier animals occur in northern populations. Males are usually slightly larger than females. A separate measured series for Georgia is not on this page. Saveljev et al. 2021 report Caspian-side introduced animals heavier than Black Sea ones.
- 02
Fur is grey-brown or yellowish-grey, often with a paler belly. A black “mask” around the eyes has a pale border. The tail usually has 4–7 dark rings and a dark tip. The forefoot has five long toes and non-retractile claws. The ears are relatively small and the muzzle pointed.
- 03
The badger (Meles canescens) is native in Georgia: more massive, with long black-and-white head stripes rather than a mask, and a short tail without rings. The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is longer-legged, rusty-red, and often white-tipped on the tail. The raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) is also introduced; it is short-legged and masked but lacks a ringed tail. It has no separate profile on this site. A MEPA invasive- species text treats the raccoon dog as having disappeared in some places and the raccoon as established.
- 04
It is not venomous. A bite or saliva can carry rabies risk. Do not pick it up, especially if it approaches without fear, seems confused, or is aggressive. A daytime sighting can be normal.
Biology
Habitat, diet, behavior, and conservation
Habitat and range
It prefers woodland near water, river floodplains, lake edges, gardens, and the margins of settlements. Species-level habitat is broad: deciduous forest, wetland, farmland, and urban parks. A Georgia-specific elevation range in metres is not published on this page. This page does not map administrative regions and does not assume even density across the country. Saveljev and co-authors (2021) state that raccoons were not released directly in Georgia; they first appeared in eastern Georgia near Lagodekhi in the 1950s (Yazan 1967; Pavlov et al. 1973). Kitiashvili (2020) already records them in the Mtkvari, Alazani, and Iori basins. For western Georgia the same paper notes appearance in Abkhazia near Sokhumi in about the last 30 years; the coastal range there is described from the Psou River to the Enguri. Footprints in Adjara have been claimed but still need confirmation. Kalandarishvili and Heltai (2019) name camera-trap and photo records from Lagodekhi Protected Areas (earliest frame they cite is 2012), the Alazani valley, Telavi, Gurjaani, the Tsiv-Gombori range, Shuamta, the Iori plateau (a roadkill at 41.83990, 45.13414), the LEPL National Nursery in Kvemo Kartli, and the vicinity of Tbilisi National Park (Mamkoda, Gldani). The photo on this page was taken in Lagodekhi Protected Areas on 12 July 2022 (Mirza Khinkiladze); another on this page is from Sighnaghi on 22 July 2021 (Giga Shushtakashvili). Those are named photographic records, not mapped regions. A female with three kits at Shuamta confirms breeding in the mountains. The 2020 Iori floodplain hunting-farm plan lists the species there as invasive and as a hunting object.
Diet
There is no separate Georgian stomach or scat study on this page. At species level it is an opportunistic omnivore: invertebrates, crustaceans, frogs, fish, birds’ eggs and nestlings, small mammals, fruit, nuts, maize, and food waste near people. The realistic picture in Georgia is the same broad menu along water and in yards, but local shares have not been measured here. Residents report damage to crops, poultry, and game birds; Kalandarishvili and Heltai note that they have no quantitative record of that damage. Caucasian amphibian literature names the raccoon as a potential predator; that is not a measured effect on every Georgian population.
Behavior
It is mainly active at night and at dusk; it can also be seen by day. It swims and climbs well. The forefeet have five long, highly mobile digits; tracks look like a small human handprint. It dens in a tree hollow, burrow, rock crevice, or building loft. It does not truly hibernate; in cold weather activity drops and it may stay in the den for long periods. At species level mating is often in late winter and early spring; kits (often 2–5, in the literature 1–7) are born in spring after about 63 days’ gestation. Those figures come from the wider range, not a Georgian den sample. The Shuamta photo of a female with three kits and young animals at Lagodekhi confirm breeding, but a national calendar is not given here.
Conservation
Timm and co-authors assess Procyon lotor as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (2016); that is a global status for the native range and does not mean the species needs protection in Georgia. Saveljev et al. 2021 note that the IUCN account’s map does not fully show the Eurasian introductions. Eliava et al. 2007 list it in Georgia as an introduced species and mark it DD in that table; that is a 2007 national-data score, not the 2014 Red List category. It is not in Decree No. 190. In the European Union it is on the list of invasive alien species of Union concern; that regulation does not apply directly in Georgia. It is not listed on the CITES appendices at species level. The 2020 Iori floodplain plan treats it as an invasive hunting object; current season and quota must be checked in official rules. Its ecological role in Georgia is that of an invasive mesopredator: competition with native carnivores and pressure on ground-nesting birds and amphibians are named, but a national impact figure is not given here. Do not keep wild animals and do not release pet raccoons into the wild.
Yes, but it is not native. It reached the Caucasus from introductions in Azerbaijan and is established in Georgia, especially in the east.
Mainly in woodland and along water in the east: Lagodekhi, the Alazani valley, Sighnaghi, the Iori, Gombori, and the Tbilisi area. Named photos on this page are from Lagodekhi Protected Areas (2022-07-12) and Sighnaghi (2021-07-22). In the west the Abkhazian coast is documented; Adjara and all of western Georgia are not treated here as even range. The map is not coloured.
Black facial mask, ringed tail, short legs, hand-like forefeet. A badger has long head stripes and a short tail; a fox is redder and longer- legged; a raccoon dog lacks a ringed tail.
At species level head–body is often about 40–70 cm, the tail 20–40 cm, and mass often about 4–9 kg. A separate measured series for Georgia is not on this page.
It is an omnivore: invertebrates, amphibians, eggs, fruit, and refuse. Diet shares in Georgia have not been measured on this page.
Mainly at night and at dusk; it can also appear by day. Activity drops in winter, but it does not truly hibernate. It is resident and does not migrate like many birds.
It is not venomous. It can bite. After a bite wash the wound and see a doctor. Do not pick it up. It can also harm pets.
Globally it is Least Concern, but in Georgia it is an introduced invasive species and is not on the 2014 Red List. It does not need protection here; the priority is monitoring and reducing conflict.
- Timm et al. 2016 — IUCN Red List, Procyon lotor
- Saveljev et al. 2021 — Raccoon in the Pan-Caucasus region
- Kalandarishvili & Heltai 2019 — Colonization of raccoon in Georgia
- ქიტიაშვილი 2020 — ჩვეულებრივი ენოტის გავრცელება საქართველოში
- Eliava et al. 2007 — New data on animal biodiversity of Georgia
- Bukhnikashvili & Kandaurov 2002 — The annotated list of mammals of Georgia
- საქართველოს მთავრობის დადგენილება №190 (2014) — წითელი ნუსხა
- იორის ჭალები — სამონადირეო მეურნეობის მართვის გეგმა (2020)
- Lotze & Anderson 1979 — Mammalian Species 119, Procyon lotor
- CABI — Procyon lotor (raccoon)
- Stope 2023 — The raccoon as a neozoon in Europe
- ASM Mammal Diversity Database — Procyon lotor
- Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026 — Annotated checklist of Georgia's amphibians and reptiles
- მირზა ხინკილაძე — ენოტი, ლაგოდეხის დაცული ტერიტორია (2022-07-12)
- გიო ტატულიშვილი — ენოტი (2021-06-25)
- გიგა შუშტაკაშვილი — ენოტი, სიღნაღი (2021-07-22)
- Wikimedia Commons — Raccoon, Central Park (Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Wikimedia Commons — Raccoon female, Ottawa (D. Gordon E. Robertson, CC BY-SA 3.0)
- Wikimedia Commons — Raccoon (Darkone, CC BY-SA 2.5)
- Wikimedia Commons — Tracks in mud (Gormo, CC0)
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
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