City Raccoons Are Smarter Than You Think

Raccoons rank quite high among nature’s animals that are gifted with intelligence. Like other wildlife, they are forced to adapt to city life as more and more human settlements encroach on their territory. Fortunately for them, their intelligence and opportunistic tendencies have led to them being well adapted to city life. In fact city raccoons have become even smarter than their rural counterparts. Any raccoon control method implemented in Ajax must take this factor into account.

The Origin of the City Raccoon

The Origin of city raccoons. Contrary to the opinions of many city dwellers, the raccoon population they interface with did not migrate from rural provinces. They are among those wildlife animals who existed in the space before the arrival of humans. Unlike many other wildlife animals, raccoons have been able to adapt well to the conditions of city life. This is why their numbers are greater than those of other city animals. Raccoons are possibly one of the most intelligent urban animals.

How City Raccoons Adapt to urban Life

Their opportunistic diet allows them to eat almost anything (both meat and vegetable matter) and therefore be able to survive off the food that is stored in disposal sites. They are also opportunistic in terms of their choice of homes. In the wild, raccoons settle into spaces that have already been created by other animals. In the city, the attics, crawl spaces and garages of buildings offer ideal potential dens for raccoons. In addition raccoons are quite smart and determined. York University psychologist Suzanne Macdonald compared rural and urban raccoons and found that the urban raccoons’ level of intelligence far exceeded that of the rural raccoons. This may very well be why getting into bins sealed shut by various mechanisms has not been so far an impossible feat for nature’s skilled bandits. Despite several attempts to devise raccoon proof holding areas for garbage, city dwellers remain frustrated by the mess they encounter after a night of raccoon foraging. There are also numerous stories (and videos) of raccoons accomplishing seemingly impossible feats such as opening doors to garages and homes. The animals are determined. Once a raccoon has identified food it will not stop trying to get to it until it reaps success. If this means spending hours fiddling with the lock s of bins and doors then so be it. And because they have become accustomed to city life, the presence of people will not spook them away. [caption id="attachment_16120" align="aligncenter" width="381"] Raccoons intelligence comes from their extremely high survival instincts.[/caption]

Raccoon Control

Without a doubt, there is a need for raccoon control in Ajax. However, any efforts to control the raccoon population in the city of Ajax or any other city for that matter, must take into account the fact that the raccoons were there before people and that the critters are sly. This is best left to trained and experienced professionals who are well aware of the intelligence and capabilities of these animals. Additionally the humane approach is always the most recommended option because not only does it have positive long term effects but it also ensures that we do not put the city’s first animal inhabitants at risk.