Raccoons are often at the receiving end of a lot of criticism and hate, but as I stated in yesterday’s post, I consider them to be positively adorable. Are they destructive at times? Yes. Does that warrant hating them? I certainly don’t think so.
Raccoons are frequently sighted on our property, and while my dad isn’t a huge fan of them because of the waste they tend to secrete within his barns, I know he also considers them to be cute, even if he won’t admit it.
Raccoons are also far more interesting than I wager most of us give them credit for, and today we will be continuing our discussion of them. This information comes from treehugger.com.
“3. They Live Nearly Anywhere
“Raccoons live throughout the continental U.S., except in parts of the Rocky Mountains and the deserts, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.3 They also call Canada and Central America home. They’re not picky about where they live, as long as there’s water nearby. Raccoons make their dens in the ground, hollow trees, or crevices in rocks. In more urban areas, they venture into homes and make dens in attics, chimneys, and crawl spaces underneath houses.
“4. Their Masks Are Anti-Glare Devices
“Raccoons are known for their bandit-like dark face masks. One theory for why raccoons have masks is that the distinctive dark markings help deflect the sun’s glare and also may enhance night vision. Additionally, some researchers have theorized that dark masks work in animals to hide their eyes from predators. However, a study published in Biological Journal concluded that the dark patterns are most likely anti-glare devices.4
“5. They Are Intelligent Animals
“Raccoons are incredibly smart. Some scholars even suggest that their discriminatory abilities are equal, if not superior, to those of domestic cats.5
“In a 2017 study published in the journal Animal Cognition, researchers assessed eight captive raccoons for causal understanding. The raccoons were shown a cylinder filled with water containing a marshmallow that was too low to grasp. Then, the researchers demonstrated that if they dropped pebbles into the cylinder, the water level would rise so that the treat was within the raccoons’ grasp. Two raccoons learned how to drop stones to get the treat. A third found an even easier way: she tipped over the tube to access the marshmallow more quickly. The researchers concluded that the raccoons were ‘innovative in many aspects of this task,’6 ” the web page states.
How can you dislike these guys after learning more about them?
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on Unsplash
ontheedgeofeverything 