Jerry Hendricks, age 11, of Colorado Springs, Colo., for his question:

CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT RACCOONS?

Some people keep raccoons as household pets, and for the time up to their first birthdays they make most pleasant additions to human families. They seem to be more intelligent than cats and they can easily be trained. But

after they've passed the one year mark they can easily be angered and, when this happens, they often scratch and bite.

Friend raccoon has a bushy tail that features from five to seven rings of black and, gray brown and across his eyes he wears what appears to be a black mask. He's about three feet long as an adult and weighs between 15 and 25 pounds.

You'll find two main species: the northern raccoon who lives in Canada, the United States and Central America, and the crab eating raccoon from South America.

Raccoons live in the woods and make dens in hollow logs, stumps or in trees. They are good swimmers and find much of their food in water:    crabs (enjoyed by both species of racoons), crayfish,    frogs and fish. In addition, they eat acorns, birds' eggs,    corn, fruit, nuts and occasionally grasshoppers and mice.

Have you heard the story about the way raccoons seem to wash their food before eating it? Scientists say the dunking of food into water isn't actually an attempt by the animal to wash his food. Rather, he is simply imitating the way he would pull fish or other animals from rivers or streams. The dunking habit is more frequently seen among raccoons that are in captivity than those living in their natural environments.

Paws of the raccoon feature strong, sharp claws which are used in finding food and also to aid tree climbing. The paws are used in handling food almost as skillfully as those of monkeys.

Living in the woods, a raccoon will rarely leave a home range of 200 acres. He usually hunts for food at night and stays in his den during the day.

Raccoons mate between January and June, and after about nine weeks the mother will deliver three or four babies  although the number can range from one to seven. Face masks are tail rings are not standard equipment with the babies  these fancy markings develop later.

Mother raccoon is very protective and doesn't even let the father come near the babies. The eyes of the babies don't open until 20 days after birth.

Baby raccoons stay in the den for the first 10 weeks of their lives, and then follow mother around as she searches for food. Mothers seem to give their babies lessons on how to protect themselves and locate food.

At the start of winter, the young raccoons leave mother and go out to establish dens of their own.