Did you know that there are raccoons in Trinidad and Tobago?

The crab-eating raccoon (Procyon cancrivorus) is the only species of raccoon found in TT.

There's also a South American link, as the crab-eating raccoon is also found in Costa Rica, Panama, Uruguay, Argentina and neighbouring Guyana and Venezuela.

But even though they exist, these raccoons aren't easy to find in the wild.

In fact, researchers only recently confirmed their presence in Tobago.

Wildlife biologist Laura Baboolal told Newsday Kids, "A lot of people don't know we have the crab-eating raccoon in Trinidad and well, we recently discovered them in Tobago.

"We were in Charlottesville, Tobago, in 2016 and it was in Bioblitz (wildlife survey event) that we were able to confirm that we had the crab-eating raccoon in Tobago.

"We found them using camera traps."

Because these raccoons are nocturnal – meaning they are more active at night – this makes them even more elusive.

If you've ever seen raccoons on TV, especially the dumpster diving ones in the US, you're probably wondering how they compare to TT's crab-eating raccoon?

Well firstly, the crab-eating raccoon is smaller in size than the northern raccoon which is the species native to North America and often shown on TV.

Apart from size, the crab-eating raccoon's diet of crabs and other aquatic animals make them more unusual. How does it catch a crab? The raccoon uses its forepaws to wear down the crab and then breaks the shell to eat its flesh. Also, the crab-eating-eating raccoon usually breeds once a year between July and September. And a litter can have two to seven babies which are called kits.

But these are just some basic facts about the crab-eating raccoon.

Baboolal explained, "The crab-eating raccoon is so elusive that they are not well studied in TT and there's not a lot of research regarding their behaviour."

In 2014, Baboolal studied crab-eating raccoons in the Caroni Swamp.

The swamp is one of the places in Trinidad where you're most likely to catch a glimpse of these exclusive raccoons.

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But apart from the swamp's ecosystem, which has the resources needed to sustain these raccoons, there's another unusual and potentially harmful reason you may catch a glimpse of them there.

Wildlife film maker Jason-Marc Mohamed told Newsday Kids he was lucky to get a picture of these raccoons because they were using a dish of water left by people feeding stray cats at the swamp.

Crab-eating raccoons have been observed dipping and washing their food in water before eating.

While Mohamed was lucky to get a picture of these elusive raccoons using the dish to wash their food, he highlights the danger of the stray cats being at the swamp and people feeding them.

At the swamp, there's a growing population of stray cats.

But while researchers understand people's love of cats, they are pleading with the public not to feed the strays at the swamp which helps their population grow.

Instead, res