A highly adaptable species, the raccoon (Procyon lotor) is a nocturnal mammal that thrives across various habitats, from dense woodlands to bustling urban and suburban environments. Its success is largely attributed to its flexible diet and resourcefulness in finding food. Raccoons are known to eat roadkill, confirming their willingness to consume animals killed by vehicles, which is a common occurrence.
The Raccoon’s General Diet
The raccoon is classified as an opportunistic omnivore, consuming both plant and animal matter depending on availability. This dietary breadth allows them to thrive wherever food sources are accessible. In natural settings, their menu includes a wide variety of items such as nuts, seeds, seasonal fruits, and berries.
Their animal-based intake often consists of easily captured prey and invertebrates, like insects, grubs, crayfish, frogs, and small rodents. They also raid bird nests for eggs or scrounge through human refuse. This generalist approach ensures their survival by allowing them to switch between diverse sources when specific food types become scarce.
Scavenging Carrion and Roadside Behavior
Raccoons readily engage in scavenging, the consumption of carrion, and roadkill represents a convenient and common source of this food. A deceased animal provides a high-protein meal that requires no hunting or chasing, fitting the raccoon’s opportunistic feeding strategy. This behavior helps dispose of carcasses, though it concentrates raccoons in dangerous areas.
The majority of this scavenging occurs under the cover of darkness, aligning with the raccoon’s nocturnal habits. They use their keen sense of smell and sensitive paws to locate and handle the dead animals, often near their established territories. Utilizing this roadside food source exposes raccoons to significant risk, as they frequently become victims of vehicle collisions themselves while feeding.
Disease Risks Associated with Raccoon Encounters
Raccoons’ close proximity to human environments and their feeding habits, including carrion consumption, increase the potential for disease transmission. Two public health concerns associated with raccoons are rabies and Raccoon Roundworm (Baylisascaris procyonis). Rabies is a viral disease primarily spread through the saliva of an infected animal, usually via a bite or scratch. Raccoons are one of the most common species to carry the rabies virus in the United States.
The parasitic Raccoon Roundworm is also a serious threat, as more than three-quarters of raccoons may be infected. Infected animals shed millions of microscopic eggs in their feces, which they deposit in communal areas called latrines. These eggs can remain infectious in the soil for years. Human infection occurs if these eggs are accidentally ingested, potentially leading to severe neurological damage if the larvae migrate to the central nervous system. Due to these risks, avoid all direct contact with raccoons, their waste, or any deceased animals they may have encountered, including roadkill.