Evaluation of the habitat, density, and distribution of a raccoon population in East Tennessee

A study on the status of the raccoon in East Tennessee was conducted from July 1975 to November 1976. Objectives were to evaluate the habitat characteristics necessary for raccoon transplant purposes with respect to natural features, land use practices, and cultural attributes, and to determine the population density and distribution of resident raccoons. A study area within Blount, Loudon, and Monroe counties, Tennessee, covering 52,084 ha (128,602 a), was selected by officials of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) on the recommendations of local raccoon hunter clubs. Within the study area, forested areas covered approximately 23,697 ha (45.5 percent). In the tri-county area (Blount, Loudon, and Monroe counties), forests account for 201,993 ha (52.9 percent). Twenty-two percent of the total forested area of Loudon County is composed of large sawtimber hardwoods dominated by oak-hickory stands (18.4 percent). Approximately, 378 km (235 mi) of streams drain the study area, and 191 km (119 mi) flow through wooded areas 0.41 ha (1 a) or larger. The total human population in the study area in 1970 was 17,426; in the tri-county area it was 111,485. The majority of the farming enterprises is for livestock. Much of the land used for these enterprises is pasture. Within the study area, 52.2 percent (27,174 ha, 67.091 a) of the total area is devoted to agriculture. Commercial land use is concentrated mostly in the larger towns. From 21 September 1975 through 22 November 1976, 24 grids (809 ha each) were trapped on 223 different nights for a total of 3,928 tripnights. A total of 32 (17 males, 15 females) different raccoons were trapped and tagged for a capture success of one per 83.6 trip-nights (1.2 percent). On numerous occasions free-roaming dogs were observed inside the study area. From 31 December 1975 through 11 November 1976, a total of 19 simulated hunts was conducted on 18 different nights. The dogs treed 39 times out of 82 "trial strikes," A total of 8 raccoons was sighted. The percentage hunter success per hunt was 42 percent; the percentage hunter success per hour was 11 percent. Trapping success in the study area indicated a low population density as compared with other studies done in open county and protected areas. The simulated hunts illustrated that hunter success is low when compared state-wide. There appear to be two general causes for the low raccoon population density in the study and surrounding areas of East Tennessee: (1) agricultural practices and (2) harassment from hunting and free roaming dogs. It is recommended that the dog training season in East Tennessee be sharply curtailed and a special dog licensing law passed to aid in identification between stray and domestic dogs.