The activities of nocturnal mammals are difficult to study under natural conditions due to their wariness and the unfavorable light conditions that limit observations. The success of such studies usually depends importantly upon the type of situations in which animals are observed. The following investigation was initiated when the writers discovered that wild raccoons were utilizing grain at a winter feeding station almost at their doorstep. This station, located 60 feet south of the refuge headquarters residence at the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge, Cherry County, Nebraska, had been maintained over a period of years for grouse and pheasants. Shelled corn was placed on a site, approximately six feet in diameter, during early November and the supply was replenished as needed until the following March. Raccoons (Procyon lotor) were seen feeding in November, 1940. Nightly observations were initiated late in this month and were continued through each succeeding winter until February, 1943.
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Sharp et al. (1956) studied this question.