Raccoon Keyring. The Raccoon is a medium-sized mammal native to North America. Two of the distinctive characteristics of the raccoon are its mask around the eyes and extremely sensitive front paws, they are also have a good memory. Their original habitats are deciduous or mixed forests and they are also found in urban areas where house owners consider them to be pests. They can swim with an average speed of about 3.0mph and stay in the water for hours!