Are Raccoons Nocturnal?

Raccoons are solitary, clever and opportunistic mammals. For some, they may look cute and funny while others consider them more of a nuisance. In the same way, people often find them rummaging through garbage cans looking out for food, especially after dusk. That being said, some raccoons are also seen moving around even during the day. This puzzles most of us and leads us to wonder are raccoons nocturnal, diurnal or crepuscular mammals?

Are Raccoons Nocturnal or Diurnal?

Well, the plain answer is of course, yes! They are nocturnal animals for sure. But if that is true, why are raccoons out during the day?

Raccoons are most active after dusk like other nocturnal animals. But that does not mean they may never come out in daytime.

Learn more: Where Do Raccoons Live?

Normally, they spend most of the daylight hours while sleeping in their dens. However, when a mother raccoon is nursing babies in her den, she may require more food to eat. This is because extra food will provide more energy and nutrition to the mother. As a result, she may venture out during the day in search of something edible.

Apart from that, a sick or rabid raccoon may also come out in the day but it is not very common. Normally, raccoons sleep in their nest during daytime but there can be a lot of reasons for their being coming out.

Besides, they are highly adaptable mammals which means they can sustain in any environment. Like humans, they also need food, water and shelter. Thus, they often look for such basic requirements in order to establish new habitats which in turn, requires them to venture out in sunlight.

Learn more: Are Raccoons Rodents?