Raccoons are mysterious animals that get called “nocturnal bandits” because they do bad things at night. These animals are very flexible and have interesting habits that have both fascinated and confused people for generations. To live together with these animals in cities without problems, it’s important to learn about how they act.
- Nature at Night: One thing that makes raccoons unique is that they only come out at night. Their main time of activity is at night, so they sleep during the day. This behavior serves more than one purpose:
- Keeping away from predators: Raccoons can be eaten by foxes, bobcats, and birds of prey, among other animals. They lower their chances of running into these threats by being busy at night.
- Racoons avoid the hottest and coldest parts of the day by being active at night. This helps them keep their body temperature stable.
- Getting used to living in cities: Being busy at night in cities is good for raccoons. They don’t have to deal with as many people, and they can freely look for food.
- Animals that get along with others: Animals like raccoons don’t live alone. They have a complicated social system with family units. In cities, these groups are usually made up of a female and her young, which are called kits. Raccoons that are not related to each other may sometimes form loose groups.
The way raccoons act around each other is often shown by:
- Grooming: Raccoons are very good at grooming themselves. They are often seen washing their food and even their hands, which shows how smart and skilled they are.
There are many sounds that raccoons use to interact, such as hisses, growls, chattering, and purring. Raccoon mothers talk to their young by making high-pitched calls.
- Touch: Raccoons are known to clean, touch, and even play with each other as a way to strengthen their social bonds.
- Variety in Diet: Raccoons are known as nature’s garbage disposals because they dig through trash cans to find food that has been thrown away. But their food is more varied than that. They eat both plants and animals, which is called omnivory. What they eat includes:
- Fruits and veggies: Raccoons eat many different kinds of fruits and veggies, especially when they are out in the wild.
- Pests: They eat bugs, earthworms, and other pests that are not animals.
- Small Animals: Raccoons hunt small animals like birds, mice, and amphibians whenever they get the chance.
- Human Food: When raccoons live near people, they change what they eat to include human food. This is how they got the name “bandit.”
How to Solve Problems Smartly:
It has been shown that raccoons are very smart and can solve problems very well. These things are possible:
- Open Containers: Their front paws are very flexible, so they can open containers, move locks, and turn doorknobs. This is why they are known as troublemakers in cities.
- Memory: Research shows that raccoons have a good memory that helps them remember how to solve problems they’ve faced.
- Readjusting: Raccoons can figure out what went wrong and change how they act next time.
- Families and Dens: During the day, raccoons often hide in dens. Their favourite places to build dens are in tree hollows, abandoned burrows, and man-made buildings like attics. A mother raccoon may raise her young in a den and teach them how to stay alive.
Understanding how raccoons act can help you live with these interesting animals without any problems. Their ability to stay hidden at night and smartness may cause them to run into people in cities, but learning about their likes and dislikes and how they normally act can help you avoid problems and enjoy the smart animals that live in our neighbourhoods.
At Raccoon Control Barrie, we love helping out the communities we are a part of. We are local technicians who want to make a difference in people’s lives by doing what we do and know best. Our line of work is risky, yet rewarding after seeing clear results and seeing smiles return on people’s faces. We believe in the safe and ethical treatment of all raccoons and make sure that their well-being is never compromised during or after the raccoon removal process. Raccoons are very unpredictable animals that can act very friendly or very aggressive.