Raccoons are adaptable wild animals often found near human settlements. While their masked faces and curious nature might make them seem approachable, understanding their natural diet and why direct feeding is discouraged is essential for their well-being and human safety. This article clarifies what raccoons eat in the wild and explains why providing them with human food can lead to serious negative consequences.
Natural Dietary Habits
Raccoons are omnivorous, consuming both plant and animal matter, which allows them to thrive in diverse environments. They are opportunistic feeders, adjusting their diet based on seasonal availability and local resources. In natural habitats, their foraging includes fruits, berries, nuts, and grains.
Their diet also incorporates animal protein. This includes insects like grubs, worms, and snails, small mammals such as mice, voles, and rabbits. Raccoons also consume bird eggs, fish, crayfish, frogs, and other aquatic life. This varied diet supports their nutritional needs and contributes to their overall health and survival in the wild.
Harmful Foods for Raccoons
Many human foods, while seemingly harmless, can be detrimental to raccoons. Processed foods, often high in sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats, lack the nutrients raccoons require and can lead to obesity and nutritional deficiencies. Sugary items and excessive starches can cause digestive upset and rapid weight gain.
Certain common human foods are toxic to raccoons. Chocolate, cocoa, and caffeine can stimulate their systems and cause serious health problems, similar to their effects on dogs. Alliums, which include onions, garlic, and chives, contain compounds that can damage a raccoon’s red blood cells, potentially leading to anemia. Avocados contain a fungicidal toxin called persin, which can induce vomiting, diarrhea, and heart issues. Raisins can also cause kidney issues, although fresh grapes generally do not pose the same risk.
Consequences of Providing Food
Feeding raccoons, even with seemingly appropriate items, can result in negative outcomes for both the animals and humans. Human-provided food disrupts their natural foraging instincts, leading to a dependency on handouts. This reliance can make them less capable of finding food on their own, especially younger raccoons who need to learn survival skills from their mothers.
Providing food often causes raccoons to congregate in unnaturally high numbers, increasing the risk of disease transmission. Diseases like rabies, distemper, leptospirosis, and roundworm can spread more easily within dense populations, posing a threat to raccoons, other wildlife, humans, and pets. Habituation to human presence can also lead to behavioral changes, such as a diminished fear of people and increased aggression, particularly when seeking food. This can result in property damage, such as raided trash cans or denning in attics, and even potential bites or scratches if humans are perceived as a food source.
Coexisting with Raccoons Safely
Managing raccoon presence without direct feeding involves several practical strategies. Securing outdoor food sources is a primary step, including using animal-proof lids on trash cans and removing pet food and water bowls from outdoors, especially overnight. Harvesting fallen fruit from trees promptly can also deter them from your yard.
Preventing raccoons from accessing potential den sites in or around your home is also important. This involves sealing openings in attics, chimneys, and under decks. If a raccoon is encountered, observe from a distance and avoid approaching or cornering the animal. Should a raccoon appear sick, injured, or disoriented, contacting local animal control or wildlife professionals is the safest course of action.