Raccoons do not truly hibernate.
Instead, they go into a lighter winter slowdown called torpor. During very cold weather, raccoons may stay in their den for several days to a few weeks at a time, sleeping a lot and living off stored body fat.
They usually come out again when the weather warms up enough to look for food.
So the simple answer is:
Raccoons may “sleep through” cold stretches for days or weeks, but they do not hibernate for the whole winter like bears or groundhogs.
Curiosity Query Fun Fact:
Raccoons are elusive because they are basically “night-shift problem solvers.” They do most of their foraging at night, when people are less active, and they use their very sensitive, five-toed front paws to feel, grab, open, and investigate things in the dark.
