If they look like safe crackers knocking over a bank, you wouldn't be far off. They're wearing masks and they definitely have the skills. Now, University of California researchers are studying the remarkable learning capacity of raccoon populations, particularly in urban environments like the Bay Area.
"A lot of folks think that raccoons are clever animals, and it's for that reason that we're really interested in studying them and how they are doing so well in cities. And so, what part of their cleverness really aids them in their successful behavioral adaptations to living in urban environments?" explains lead author Lauren Stanton, Ph.D.
Stanton and Professor Chris Schell, Ph.D., showed us the compact wildlife cameras they use to document raccoon behavior. The experiments often involve a combination of risk and reward, with lab-built puzzles containing a foraging treat like pet food. In one video, the animals are seen trying to figure out how to open a black tube to get the reward.
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"Here you can see we have these three raccoons that are in somebody's backyard. And so there's one in the background, two in the foreground. They're both working hard to open the puzzle. One is kind of focused on the body of the tube and it's able to get the cap off," Stanton explains.
But they say the research isn't just about how quickly the raccoons learn, but the forces driving them to take on something new, unfamiliar, and potentially risky. In an early study, only about a quarter of the animals solved the puzzle, many of them juveniles, possibly suggesting that adults were more risk adverse.
"It smells really yummy, you know, are they interested in interacting with it? And this is giving us a measure of their risk-taking behavior. So again, it's something new and it's intriguing, but it might be kind of risky to interact with," she says.
So, could environment also be playing a role? Professor Schell points to the kind of differences that might influence raccoon or human behavior in wealthier or poorer neighborhoods. Factors like traffic, tree cover, or the convenient availability of food.
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"The behavioral strategies for living in these two different environments are wildly different, and it stands to reason that the strategies to just survive in those two different neighborhoods and environments are also wildly different. And that's the case for raccoons and for humans," he believes.
A mirror of our own behavior, influenced by the challenges we face. Reminding us that we're all residents of the ecosystems we create and support.
"And those lessons help us to build better cities, help us to manage wild populations better, help us to pinpoint the areas that need more access to public goods and resources. And equity in this entire conversation is one not just of society, but also of conservation, says Professor Schell.
And while the research is documenting that raccoons can be quick learners; they may have important lessons about survival and adaptability to teach us as well.
The Berkeley team is also using the raccoons to help teach some young minds as well. Their puzzles are part of an exhibit now on display at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco called California: State of Nature.