Raccoons like humans are omnivores. Raccoons like humans also have teeth designed to grind plants or tear meat. They are excellent problem solvers and are quite adept at manipulating things with their paws and fingers which help make them good at adapting to changing environments.
Opening latches, unlocked doors, and garbage cans are relatively easy tasks for raccoons. They also use their paws and fingers to inspect their food and remove any unwanted pieces before eating it. It is quite common for raccoons to douse their food in water too, but the reason they do that is debatable. Are they washing their food, softening their food, moistening their food to make it easier to swallow, softening their paws in order to better feel their food, or are they simply playing in water? Only the raccoons know for sure.
Raccoons are clever and resourceful animals. They live, eat, and even prosper in diverse environments. They are found in cold climates, warm climates, urban areas, and in the country. What do raccoons eat ? Raccoons eat berries, other fruits, nuts, grains, and vegetables. They also eat insects, eggs, poultry, rats, squirrels, small livestock, birds, fish, snakes, craw fish, worms, frogs, and mollusks. Additionally, raccoons will eat pet food, carrion, and human garbage. Raccoons like to eat many different kinds of food, but what they actually eat often depends on what is available. As expected, the foods available to raccoons in the country are frequently different from the foods available to raccoons in urban areas.
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What do raccoons eat in the wild
Raccoons in the wild are skilled at using their paws to catch fish, to steal eggs or hatch lings from bird nests, and to pick fruit. Further, they will raid a vegetable garden, a chicken house, a pet’s food bowl, or a garbage can. They will catch rats, squirrels, small livestock, snakes, frogs, chickens, craw fish, worms, and mollusks, but they prefer the slower-moving, easier-to-catch prey. They love berries, acorns, and other tree nuts.
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What do raccoons eat in the city
In heavily populated areas, it is more difficult for raccoons to find all of the foods they might normally eat. Birds, bird eggs, rodents, and squirrels are still available in some settings but usually are not as plentiful. Consequently, city raccoons will scavenge dumpsters, garbage cans, and sometimes even road kill. They will pilfer pet food and take fish from decorative or backyard ponds. Occasionally, they become brave enough to approach humans and beg for food too.
The willingness and ability of raccoons to procure, eat, and digest such a varied diet have helped them survive climate extremes and ever-changing environments that would be more challenging to a less versatile species. In captivity, raccoons have lived for more than 20 years, but their life expectancy in the wild is significantly less. Raccoons do have natural predators, but the number of adult raccoon deaths from predication is relatively small. Distemper outbreaks, hunters, and being hit by automobiles account for the majority of adult raccoon deaths in the wild.
