Using Behavior and Space Use of Raccoons to Indirectly Assess the Nature of Nest Predation

We evaluated fine-scale movements of raccoons to figure out the areas in which they foraged, and then determined how much turkey nesting habitat was within these areas.  We found that raccoons typically selected areas to forage within that were not similar to turkey nesting habitat.  Our findings suggest that perhaps nest predation by raccoons may be incidental, rather than raccoons targeting areas where turkeys were nesting.  We concluded that management scenarios that discourage raccoons from overlapping their use in areas where turkeys nest through habitat alterations may help mitigate nest loss.