Indices Using External Measurements for Assessing Fat Deposition of Adult Feral Raccoons (Procyon lotor) in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan

We examined the use of external measurements and relative fat deposition of adult feral raccoons (Procyon lotor) to develop relative indices of body fat deposition in post-growth feral raccoons. From March 2006 to March 2010, 288 adult raccoon carcasses (110 males, 178 females) collected in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, which were determined to be 24 months old, were subjected to external measurements of body weight (BW), girth measurement (GM), and body mass index (BMI). To assess relative body fat deposition, we visually classified abdominal subcutaneous fat into three grades (Visible Fat Index [VFI]: I-III). Significant differences in the means of BW (both sexes:P < 0.01), GM (females: P < 0.05, males: P < 0.01), and BMI (both sexes: P < 0.01) were detected between seasons. Notably, the means of BW, GM, and BMI (all, both sexes: P < 0.01) differed significantly between VFI grades. However, by discriminant analysis with BW. GM, and BMI as independent variables, we obtained a significant discriminant function (both sexes: P < 0.01) for distinguishing VFI I from higher VFI grades, but no significant equation was obtained for distinguishing between VFI II and VFI III. Based on the obtained structure matrix of discriminant analysis, BMI was the most valuable component for the discrimination of VFI grades. Thus, we conclude that BMI is a suitable complementary index for assessing relative body fat deposition of adult feral raccoons in Kanagawa Prefecture and may be generalizable to populations in other areas.