Racoons in Puerto Vallarta

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BY:Sylvia McNamee.
Many visitors to Puerto Vallarta are very surprised to find out that raccoons are one of the many creatures that live in our bio-diverse area. Commonly thought of as a forest creature, raccoons in Mexico make their home in the jungle and are referred to as “mapaches”.

Spanish colonists found these masked creatures in many parts of Mexico, including Puerto Vallarta, and gave them the Spanish name mapache which was influenced by the Nahuatl word of the Aztecs mapachitliof which means “the one who takes everything in its hands” due to the habit that raccoons have of rubbing their ultra sensitive paws together and their ability to stand on their hind legs to examine things in their paws.

The Aztecs were indeed very interested in the mapachitliof, particularly in the females because of their strong commitment to their young. In fact, the Aztecs attributed supernatural abilities to the creatures and likened them to wise women in a tribal society.

To allow raccoons to manage the tropical heat in places like Puerto Vallarta, they regulate their temperature in two ways, both by sweating and by panting. They are also accomplished swimmers and can achieve water speeds of about 3 miles per hour and stay in the water for several hours.

It is not an unusual sight to spy a raccoon in Puerto Vallarta and it can make for a great photograph of a well-known animal in an unexpected place, but remember that they are a wild creature and should not be approached or fed by humans.