Raccoons, with their distinctive masked faces and ringed tails, are known for their remarkable adaptability. As omnivores, they consume both plant and animal matter, allowing them to thrive in diverse environments. Their intelligence and dexterity also contribute to their success across various habitats, from forests to urban centers. This broad diet and opportunistic nature enable raccoons to find sustenance anywhere.
Natural Foragers
In their natural habitats, such as forests, wetlands, and rural areas, raccoons exhibit a varied diet influenced by seasonal availability. They frequently forage near water sources, where they find aquatic creatures like crayfish, clams, frogs, snails, and small fish. Their plant-based diet includes fleshy fruits, berries, nuts, and seeds, which become particularly important calorie sources in late summer and autumn as they prepare for colder months. They also consume invertebrates like insects (grubs, beetles, worms), slugs, and spiders, along with bird eggs and small birds if accessible. While not primarily hunters, they will opportunistically prey on small rodents like mice and voles or scavenge carrion.
Adapting to Human Environments
Raccoons adapt their feeding habits to human-dominated landscapes, including urban and suburban areas. In these settings, their diet shifts to human-associated food sources, which are readily available and require less effort. They frequently raid garbage cans and dumpsters for discarded food scraps, which can range from meat products to baked goods and produce. Pet food left outdoors, such as kibble, also becomes a common and accessible meal. Additionally, they will forage in gardens for produce like corn, melons, and berries, or access compost piles.
Clever Foraging Techniques
Raccoons employ clever techniques to obtain food, relying on their physical attributes and intelligence. Their front paws are remarkably dexterous, featuring five fingers with sensitive tactile pads that allow them to grasp, manipulate, and investigate objects with precision. Their keen sense of touch is more developed than vision, helping them identify food during nocturnal foraging. Raccoons can open containers such as trash cans with latches or coolers, demonstrating problem-solving skills and memory for food locations. While they appear to “wash” food in water, this behavior, known as dousing, enhances paw sensitivity, allowing them to gather more sensory information.
What Not to Feed Them
Feeding raccoons, especially human food, can lead to negative consequences. Providing a consistent food source can cause raccoons to become dependent on humans, leading to a loss of natural foraging skills, increased presence on properties, nuisance behaviors like property damage, or disease transmission to humans and pets. Certain human foods are harmful or toxic to raccoons, including chocolate, onions, garlic, raisins, macadamia nuts, caffeine, and alcohol. Processed foods, sugary items, and foods high in salt can also lead to obesity, digestive issues, or organ problems. To prevent attracting raccoons, it is advisable to secure trash cans with tight-fitting lids and avoid leaving pet food outdoors overnight.