Black (melanistic) raccoon

Woody Williams · Post by **Woody Williams** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 3:40 pm

I was headed over to Illinois yesterday to put the trail camera back up. I was traveling down Highway 62 in Indiana just a little past the USI campus when I noticed something dead beside the road. As I passed it I saw a Black (melanistic) raccoon.

I went on over to Illinois and stopped on my way back for a close up look at it. It was a beautiful Black (melanistic) raccoon. Fur looked in good shape for this time of year. Damage was light. He probably had been laying there for a couple days and had an odor about him. If he had been a fresh kill I would have thrown him in the back of the truck and took him to my taxidermist.

A coon hunter stopped right after I did. He said in 20 years of coon hunting he had never seen a Black (melanistic) raccoon. Anyone on here ever seen one?

I did take a picture of him with my cell phone.

Fox · Post by **Fox** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 3:45 pm

That is cool, never seen one black, darker than normal but not black.

Esox · Post by **Esox** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 3:56 pm

I've seen only one that was very, very dark but not completely black, because the stripes on the tail was almost like a normal colored coon.

That one you have looks really dark......

dick195252 · Post by **dick195252** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 4:04 pm

the one in your picture is the first one i have ever seen

Woody Williams · Post by **Woody Williams** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 4:40 pm

Esox wrote:I've seen only one that was very, very dark but not completely black, because the stripes on the tail was almost like a normal colored coon.

That one you have looks really dark......

No stripes on thsi one's tail. He did have a little brown on his muzzle.

bojangles · Post by **bojangles** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 5:38 pm

that is cool looking...to bad you couldnt have got it mounted

wabi · Post by **wabi** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 6:45 pm

The only melanistic critters I have seen in the wild have been squirrels.
Shame he was too "ripe" to mount.

Gimpaw · Post by **Gimpaw** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 9:30 pm

I never even heard of one until now. Thanks for posting the pic

mikej · Post by **mikej** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 11:03 pm

dick195252 wrote:the one in your picture is the first one i have ever seen

me too

Farmer · Post by **Farmer** » Sat Aug 15, 2009 4:42 am

I have seen 2 or 3 white ones but that is the 1st all black one .

Kenton · Post by **Kenton** » Sat Aug 15, 2009 10:22 pm

In sandusky ohio, there is a NASA research facility called plumbrook. I used to work for a guy who did a research study and in one area of the facility was closed population of black raccoons.

bojangles · Post by **bojangles** » Sat Aug 15, 2009 10:38 pm

I know snakes can have this coloration..I use to breed and sell snakes(non venomous)..I had melanistic,piebald,albino,and many other colorations of snakes so I wonder if you could the other colorations in coons,deer,etc,as you can in snakes? http://www.gartersnake.co.uk/mel1.htm