Procyon pygmaeus
Silhouette: Margot Michaud · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The Cozumel raccoon (Procyon pygmaeus) is a critically endangered species of island raccoon endemic on Cozumel Island off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. It is sometimes also called the pygmy raccoon, dwarf raccoon, Cozumel Island raccoon, and Cozumel raccoon bear.
Clinton Hart Merriam first described the Cozumel raccoon as morphologically distinctive from its mainland relative, the common raccoon subspecies Procyon lotor hernandezii, in 1901. Since then, other scientists have generally agreed with Merriam's assessment, especially Kristofer Helgen and Don E. Wilson, who have dismissed this classification for the other four island raccoons in their studies in 2003 and 2005. Therefore, the Cozumel raccoon was listed as the only distinct species of the genus Procyon besides the common raccoon and the crab-eating raccoon in the third edition of Mammal Species of the World. An archeological study showed that Maya from Cozumel used raccoons of reduced stature, which suggests that the size reduction of this raccoon is not a recent phenomenon.
No true fossils of the species are known, although skeletons have been found at some archeological sites on the island... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Pygmy Raccoon sighting in Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park on a given day, based on 100 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 7 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February, October and December
In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Pygmy Raccoon in Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park on a given day, against about 30% in May, the lowest month.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Pygmy Raccoon sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park, in our data
Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Pygmy Raccoon sightings: about 50% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Pygmy Raccoon is recorded against all the mammals logged in Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park (100 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
