The raccoon is about the size of a spaniel, and its colour is a blackish grey.  Its tail is short and bushy, and is marked with five or six blackish rings on a grey ground.  When the animal walks slowly, or sits, it plants the soles of its feet upon the ground; but when in a hurry it runs along on the tips of its toes.  It hunts for its prey chiefly at night, when it devours any small animals it can catch.  It has no objection, however, to a vegetable diet; and, indeed, its teeth show that it is capable of feeding on both descriptions of food.