Raccoons are often claimed to be giants, but a trapper that has put away quite a lot of fox and raccoon (see pics at http://disalvo.20megsfree.com/index.html) says:
"Lots of people say they have caught 40+ pound coons. Well I want to see a picture of this coon weighed on a accurate scale! I've caught hundreds upon hundreds of coons and have yet to see one top 35 pounds."
This is not to say that very large raccoons have not been documented.
According to "Raccoons: A Natural History," by Samuel I. Zeveloff, the average weight for an adult raccoon is 8 to 20 pounds, but occassionally a very old, very well fed boar raccoon will top 30 pounds.
The heaviest raccoon ever recorded was a monster Wisconsin raccoon that weighed an amazing 62 pounds and 6 ounces! Zeveloff also notes an old and quite rotund Texas raccoon that tipped the scales at 56 pounds.
Another odd bit from the same book: a raccoon holding onto the inside of a tree once supported a 200-pound man hanging from its tail.
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