A Portly Raccoon

On a recent trip to the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma, I was lucky enough to capture a photo of a large Raccoon perched on a tree at the west end of the Sally Jones Causeway.

The tree that the Raccoon was on extended into the water, and when I first spotted it, the Raccoon was getting ready to enter the water at the bottom of the tree. Unfortunately, there were limbs in my way, and I wasn’t going to get a good photo. But then, for some reason, the Raccoon turned and went back up the tree trunk and posed for me. I quickly snapped several photos, and then it climbed back down and entered the water, swimming away.

Raccoons are known for their dexterity and ability to climb trees with ease, and this Raccoon was no exception. It was a large one, too, which is notable since Raccoons can vary in size depending on their habitat and access to food. Typically, adult Raccoons weigh between 10-30 pounds, but they can grow larger in areas where food is abundant.

To capture this photo, I used a Fujifilm X-T3 camera with a Canon EF 100-400 mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II lens attached with a Fringer EF-FX Pro. The camera and lens were set up on a bean bag draped over the open window of my pickup, allowing me to capture this incredible moment with ease.

Overall, the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge is a great place for nature lovers and wildlife photographers to explore, and it’s always exciting to see creatures like this large Raccoon up close in their natural habitat.

Note:

The largest raccoon on record weighed 75 pounds, but this was an exceptional case. The average size range of an adult raccoon is between 18 and 28 inches in length, and they typically weigh anywhere from 5 to 35 pounds. However, males are often larger than females and have been weighed at up to 60 pounds. A recent report from Missouri mentioned a raccoon weighing 35 pounds, which is 6.5 pounds heavier than the previous record.

Remembering Bandit, the world’s largest pet raccoon who was ‘addicted to Pringles’