The Super Smart Raccoon

When you think of raccoons, you probably think of their masked faces and affinity for trash cans. But there is so much more to those cute critters than meets the eye!

A new University of British Columbia study suggests raccoons may be genuinely curious about solving puzzles, even when there’s not a reward at the end. Scientists set up a puzzle box with nine entry points and different mechanisms, such as latches, sliding doors and knobs. Each raccoon had 20 minutes to solve the puzzle box, which contained a single marshmallow.

What scientists didn’t expect was that the raccoons often continued working on the box after eating the marshmallow. This suggests they had a reason other than hunger and is described as “information foraging.” 

Scientists found that when solutions to the puzzles were easy, the raccoons tried multiple solutions, but as the difficulty increased, they preferred a dependable solution.

“Raccoons explore when the cost is low and quickly decide to play it safe when the stakes are higher,” said Hannah Griebling, who co-led the study.

Raccoons are native to North America and can found throughout much of the U.S., Canada and Mexico. They can also be found in parts of South America and around the globe.

One of the biggest reasons raccoons have been so successful is that they are good at adapting to a variety of environments. They succeed in cities and neighborhoods because of the availability of human food. Raccoons are very good at adapting to a world humans keep changing, and as we learned from the recent study, are more intelligent and flexible than most people realize.

“Raccoon intelligence has long (been)featured in folklore, yet scientific research on their cognition remains limited,” said Sarah Benson-Amram, who also co-led the research. “Studies like this provide empirical evidence to support that reputation.”

Raccoon Facts:

• Max running speed:  15 miles per hour
• Average length: 24-38 inches
• Name for young raccoons: kits