For Kids - Meet Our Animals

Coonie & Lucky

Coonie and Lucky are two of Alexandria Zoo's raccoons. They like to climb trees and dig holes at night. Raccoons are nocturnal which means they are active mainly at night. This is why Coonie and Lucky usually stay out of sight during the day. They usually come out in the afternoon when they are being fed.

At the zoo, raccoons get fed monkey biscuits, fruits, vegetables, and meat. Coonie tries his best to beat Lucky to the food bowl, but he doesn't always make it. If Lucky reaches it first, Coonie will nudge him out of the way so he has first pick of the food, which is usually banana (Coonie's favorite). Lucky always grabs a monkey biscuit first. He'll roll it around in the water before he eats it.

Raccoons do dip food in water, but the legend that they actually wash their food is without foundation, since they cannot distinguish between clean and dirty water. It is thought they may be adding moisture to their food making it easier to swallow or it may be merely an instinctive behavior where they drop their food in water and search for it. As special treats they get fish and crawfish. Zookeepers will put the fish and crawfish in the raccoon pond so that Lucky and Coonie have catch their meal.

WHERE CAN I FIND THEM IN THE ZOO?
Louisiana Habitat

Click here to learn more about raccoons.