Raccoons are mostly active at night - they are 'nocturnal'. During the day they sleep in trees, hollow logs or quiet corners. At night they come out to look for food, walking quietly on their paws and using their incredible front hands to feel around in the dark.
Those front paws are amazing. Each one has five long fingers, more sensitive than yours. A raccoon can open a jar, turn a doorknob, untie a knot and unzip a bag. Scientists who study them are constantly impressed by what raccoons can figure out, especially when there's food involved.
Raccoons are famous for sometimes 'washing' their food in water before eating it - dunking and rubbing it between their hands. Scientists now think they aren't really washing it. They are using the water to make their already very sensitive paws even more sensitive, so they can feel exactly what they're holding.
Mother raccoons raise their babies (called 'kits') alone. A litter is usually three to five kits, born blind and pink in a cosy den. After a couple of months they follow their mum out into the world, learning to climb, find food and stay out of trouble. By the time they are a year old, they go off to live on their own.