Suburban Raccoons

We do not really know just how intelligent raccoons are and the research we did to find scientific information about raccoon intelligence did not turn up much information. We did find some studies from the 1905 time frame that suggested that raccoons are good at solving problems and memorization. Based on personal experience and observations of raccoons living in our neighborhood, I would say they were highly intelligent as far as the animal species goes. We have a number of reasons for feeling this way since we have had a direct relationship with urban raccoons over the past year. This is based on first-hand experience.

Raccoon Intelligence

Here is our list which is totally unscientific, but based on practical experience:

• Raccoons have thrived in urban settings
• Raccoons have found dens in trees, homes, attics, etc in urban areas
• They have found food in the garbage bins
• Raccoons routinely open garbage cans
• They live on grubs in our lawns
• Raccoons learn to avoid traps
• They steal food out of traps without setting them off
• Suburban raccoons are not afraid of loud noises
• They scale homes and office building brick fronts easily
• Mothballs and other such things are not bothersome to them
• They are simply not afraid of humans
• Raccoons are very loyal to their mates and pups
• They seem to be able to find new dens easily
• Raccoons can tell when a den has been vacated
• They have a great deal of dexterity with their paws
• They pass what they have learned down to their young

As we said this is not scientific, but they have sure been able to survive very nicely as homes have been built and taken over rural areas where they traditionally live. Raccoon intelligence has clearly been demonstrated in our opinion. Other species are endangered as a result and in many cases wiped out from these areas were urban sprawl has taken over. In our neighborhood, there is not one of my neighbors who has not seen raccoons in their yard or up in one of their trees in the past few years.

Raccoons Are So Intelligent that they Will Not Enter Traps

We tried trapping a family of raccoons that had settled into our attic.  We used a humane trap and planned to take them into the country if we were able to catch them. Turns out they were too intelligent for us and the trap. The trap we used was a long cage with a trap door that was set off when the raccoon would step on a false floor where the food was. These raccoons were just too smart for that. They would reach in through the wire mesh of the trap and grab the food off of the trigger mechanism without setting off the trap. Every morning when I went out the food would be gone and the trap would be empty.

Call in the Raccoon Removal Experts

We finally had to call in the experts to have them get rid of them for us. They built one trap doors in front of the opening into our home’s attic. This way all of the raccoons could get out but not back in. This is very important. Before you install the one-way trap door you have to make sure that the raccoon pups, if there any, are old enough to get around by themselves and are coming outside. They have to get out of the attic and through the trap door so that they cannot get back in.

Raccoon parents are very loyal to their families. They may literally be tearing your roof apart to get back into where the pups are and rescue them. In fact, you could have a much worse problem than you started with if this happens. We have seen pictures and have some on this web site of roofs that have been torn apart by raccoons. They are trying to get to their young pups out of the attic. With rain and snow, you could have a great deal of additional damage to your home.

You may disagree with the writer about the intelligence of raccoons, however, based on what we have seen and the list we provided at the top of this post, they clearly are intelligent and have learned to adapt to their changing environment which is a significant achievement.

Save

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.