Dispersal And Survival Of Translocated Raccoons In Kentucky

A tagging and telemetry study of translocated raccoons (Procyon lotor) was conducted during 1975, 1976 and 1977 in Kentucky. In areas of good cooperation from hunters, the reported tag return rate was 19.1% for Kentucky raccoons, 5.5% for Virginia raccoons and 1.7% for Florida raccoons. Mean dispersal distances for tagged Florida, Virginia and Kentucky raccoons was 25.7 km, 7.4 kam and 6.4 km, respectively. Twelve radiotagged Florida raccoons were monitored an average of 65 days. The probability rate of Florida raccoons released in the spring surviving until hunting season in November is less than 10%. Pen-raised raccoons moved only a few km from their release site and had a higher survival rate than Florida raccoons.