Distribution and occupancy trend of raccoon (Procyon lotor) in Belgium

Distribution and occupancy trends of raccoon (Procyon lotor) in Belgium is a software repository containing PNG graphs, a leaflet density map and the R scripts used to generated them. The leaflet density map is also available via GitHub Pages: https://inbo.github.io/forum-wasbeer-2026/heatmap_occurrences.html. The emergence of the invasive alien raccoon (Procyon lotor) in Flanders and Belgium is causing debate over a sensible management objective (do nothing, eradication, complete reproductive removal, pest free areas,...) for the species. Raccoons have considerable biodiversity impact and therefore have been listed as invasive alien species of Union Concern under the EU invasive species Regulation (1143/2014). Drafting a management plan requires detailed data on the current distribution and the trend in the distribution. The analysis is based on open data harvested from the GBIF platform, which, for Belgium, provide complete coverage. Similar trends of northern raccoon in other European countries can be found on this B-cubed dashboard https://b-cubed-eu.github.io/euroraccoon/src/dashboard.html#countries. Files src/heatmap_occurrences.R: R script used for creating and saving the leaflet density heatmap. src/occupied_grid_cells.R: R script used for plotting and saving the number of occupied grid cells per year. figures/heatmap_occurrences.html: Leaflet density heatmap of Procyon lotor occurrences in Belgium. figures/occupied_grid_cells_full_cube.png: Plot of the number of occupied grid cells in Belgium. figures/occupied_grid_cells_protected_areas_cube.png: Plot of the number of occupied grid cells in Natura2000 protected areas. figures/occupied_grid_cells_combined.png: Combined plot of occupied grid cells in Belgium and protected areas.