Invasive Alien Species in Belgium: Procyon lotor

Naturalization in Belgium

First observation in the wild:	1986
Invasion stage:	spread
Spatial distribution:	restricted

Invasiveness

Reproduction in the wild:	yes
Dispersion potential:	high
Natural habitats:	high

More on invasiveness: Raccoon prefers wetlands and old decidous forests with hollow trees, often adjacent to water. It is however able to adapt to a high diversity of other environmental conditions, including urbanised areas.

Distribution in Belgium

Established populations Biogeographic areas where the species is known to be established in the wild

	absent from district
	isolated populations (1-5 localities per district)
	widespread (>5 localities per district)

Impacts on Species

Predation / Herbivory:	high
Competition:	likely
Disease transmission:	likely
Genetic effects:	low

Impacts on Ecosystems

Nutrient cycling:	low
Physical alteration:	low
Natural successions:	low
Food web alteration:	likely

More on impacts: In Japan and in the USA, large-scale changes in abundance of raccoons have had demonstrable negative consequences for different organisms due to its predation activity (e.g. ground nesting birds and amphibians). Increasing evidence of raccoon impact on native preys is also found in Western Europe since a few years, as a result of population increase in Germany and neighbour areas (see e.g. Fiderer et al 2019, Rabitsch et al 2020 and Cichocki et al 2021). Raccoon may also compete with native species for nesting cavities and also cause cascading effects on food webs (Kobayashi et al 2014, Suraci et al 2016). Raccoon is included in the appendix to the recommendation no 77 of the Council of Europe as a species which has proved to be a threat to biological diversity and for which eradication is strongly recommended.

Data Source & References

Authors:	Branquart Etienne, D'aes Margo, Manet Benoît, Motte Grégory, Schockert Vinciane, Stuyck Jan
Published on:	18 September 2007
Last update:	02 August 2022

References:

Bartoszewicz, M. (2006)

Invasive alien species fact sheet Procyon lotor.

From online database of the North European and Baltic network on invasive alien species (NOBANIS).

Bartoszewicz, M., Okarma, H., Zalewski, A., Szczęsna, J. (2008)

Ecology of the Raccoon (Procyon lotor) from western Poland.

Ann. Zool. Fennici 45 : 291-298.

Beltran-Beck, B., Garcia, F.J. & Gortazar, C. (2012)

Raccoons in Europe: disease hazards due to the establishment of an invasive species.

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Raccoons in Europe: disease hazards due to the establishment of an invasive species.

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Cichocki, J., Ważna, A., Bator-Kocoł, A., Lesiński, G., Grochowalska, R., & Bojarski, J. (2021)

Predation of invasive raccoon (Procyon lotor) on hibernating bats in the Nietoperek reserve in Poland.

Mammalian Biology, 101(1), 57-62.

Duchêne, M.J. & Artois, M. (1988)

Les carnivores introduits: chien viverin (Nyctereutes procyonoides) et raton laveur (Procyon lotor).

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Fiderer, C., Göttert, T., & Zeller, U. (2019)

Spatial interrelations between raccoons (Procyon lotor), red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), and ground-nesting birds in a Special Protection Area of Germany.

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Agence de l'Eau Artois-Picardie.

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