In the Southern States we find another species of raccoon, somewhat
larger than the former, who is addicted to eating molluscs and
crustaceans, whether marine or terrestrial. It is said, also, that when
other means fail of obtaining food, he seats himself on a branch hanging
low down over some quiet pool, and using his flexible tail as a
fishing-line, waits patiently till its end is caught hold of by a
snapping turtle or other inhabitant of the water, when, whisking it up,
he tears open the creature's shell and devours the luscious flesh with
aldermanic relish. The fur is generally of a blackish-grey hue, washed
with a tinge of yellow. A blacker tint prevails on the head, neck, and
along the spine. His tail, in proportion to the size of his body, is
shorter than that of the common raccoon, and is marked with six black
rings, upon a blackish-yellow ground.