Raccoons: Ultimate Urban Adapters

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Few animals have the moxie of urban raccoons. Bold, cunning and surprisingly dexterous, these city-slickers have little trouble clawing their way through cat flaps or raiding backyard bird-feeders. But some acts of urban “raccoonery” are executed with such astonishing skill that they deserve special mention. One such recent heist involved a seemingly well-fortified bird feeder and a raccoon that proved otherwise.

 

This birdseed burglar is not the first of its species to deftly conquer a backyard feeder, and it certainly won’t be the last. “Raccoons are exceptionally bright mammals, with great skills in puzzle and problem-solving tasks,” zoologist Dr Sam Zeveloff told us via email. “They are particularly adept at what has been termed ‘unfastening’ problems, in part due to their fine manual dexterity.” … continue reading.