The raccoon Procyon lotor (Linnaeus 1758) is the native species in North and Central America; it can be also found in parts of Europe and Asia as an alien species. The raccoon's flexibility and capability in coping with environmental changes have made it the most successful invader compared with other species. In 1991, a raccoon was recorded in Iran for the first time. Since then, the knowledge about the distribution, expansion range, and influences of this species on native ecosystem has remained unclear. The importance of environmental variables for the raccoons’ distribution might vary widely across different spatial resolutions; therefore, we developed a robust statistical framework to predict the raccoon distribution across different spatial resolutions in Iran. Our predictions made by species’ distribution models (ENFA, GARP and MaxEnt) highlighted the importance of food availability at a small, and water resources, settlements, and population density at a large spatial resolution. The models indicate particular areas, mostly located in forests and rangelands near to the Caspian Sea that can be a potential habitat for raccoons. We observed that the distribution of the raccoon population in Iran almost entirely overlaps with protected areas, which consequently brings about some conflicts with conservation practices and management plans. It is therefore imperative that the local knowledge be strengthened to adequately respond to the threats imposed by raccoon invasions over special protected lands

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