Why Cities Are Battling Raccoons And Failing
Raccoons: The Unstoppable Urban Invaders
This video discusses the raccoon invasion in big cities and why it's difficult to stop them.
Raccoon Invasion
- In 2016, Toronto spent $31 million to fend off a raccoon invasion.
- Between the 1930s and 1980s, the US raccoon population increased twentyfold.
- Raccoons can digest just about anything from fish and acorns in the forest to dog food and pizza on the street. They usually prefer human food, which is why they flock from woodland to city in the first place.
Clever Raccoons
- Captured raccoons sometimes get relocated to forests but often head right back to the dumpster-packed city streets.
- Toronto tried using raccoon-proof waste bins with special gravity locks, but a clever raccoon was caught on camera jailbreaking the new bin.
- Studies show that raccoons are considerably smarter than your average medium-sized critter. They have more neurons packed into their brains than other animals of the same size.
- Their clever brains help explain why raccoons can open complex locks, solve puzzles with ease, and even come up with solutions to problems that scientists didn't think of.
- Their ultrasensitive paws have four times as many sensory receptors as their feet. This helps them feel subtle textures like special trashcan lids in Toronto and even open locks without looking.
Managing Raccoon Infestations
- Mass cullings aren't a long-term solution because females can start giving birth at just 1 year old and can have as many as eight kits in a single year.
- Raccoons can cause significant damage to buildings, destroy insulation, chew up wires, and tear holes through walls. Removing them can cost $300 to $500 per raccoon.
- Raccoon poop can contain roundworms and other parasites that can enter your lungs when you breathe or get tracked into your home by your pets. They can also transmit diseases like canine distemper and rabies.
Conclusion
- Cities are trying to find some way, any way, to manage raccoons but it's difficult because of their intelligence and quick breeding.