While much human labor involves manipulating tools, most wild creatures depend solely on their hands to do the work for them. Imagine how finger numbing it would be to peel back a lawn using only your hands? The raccoon whose handiwork this is must have been peeling for some time before he made such a mess of my lawn.
Maybe I’d be in a peeling frenzy too if I shared his appetite for worms. Considering all the worms I found under the sod, it’s no wonder he keeps coming back for more.
Besides their awesome dexterity, raccoons’ compulsive hand washing is also a source of fascination. One popular theory suggests that these ‘Little Washing Bears’ simply wash their food prior to eating it. However, researchers Rasmusson and Turnbull discovered that wetting actually enhances the sensitivity of raccoons’ hand nerves (‘Sensory innervation of the raccoon forepaw: 2. Response properties and classification of slowly adapting fibers’ ). This wetting process would certainly give raccoons more information regarding the edibility of their food and make it easier for them to catch food underwater.
If women don’t find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.
~ Red Green
Raccoons have managed to use their dexterity to repeatedly lift off my garbage can lid, pluck tomatoes from my garden and abscond with the suet balls I thought I had carefully tied to tree branches.
Considering how much their survival is linked to their handiwork, I wonder to what extent a raccoon’s handiness is considered in the choice of mates.
For more about raccoons see:
The Lawn Ripper and When Bandits Strike
Text and photographs copyright Amy-Lynn Bell 2012
Naughty critters… love that quote from Red Green. 🙂
You have a buffet – hard to say no.
Dawn, naughty indeed! Red Green has come up with some pretty clever stuff, especially where duct tape is concerned 😉 And yes, it’s more tempting to overeat at a worm buffet than if you’re just given a single plate serving of them 🙂
Our local raccoons like to wash their hands in our outdoor pet water bowl! Oh well, I change it daily anyways… They like the worms at our house too!
Blessings ~ Wendy
Greenlightlady, they certainly make the most of every opportunity to wash their hands don’t they? Hopefully your lawn doesn’t look as bad as mine.
I am not a fan of these guys. Because of the mild winter we had, too many raccoons survived and decided our chickens, chicks, and rabbits were easy pickings. Unfortunately they were right. Despite our protection efforts, the raccoons decimated our poultry and duck flock. Nope, not a fan at all.
Yousei, I can’t complain then if all they take from me are the worms in the lawn. What bandits they are! I had heard of them taking fowl before, but never rabbits!
Only the babies. They’re really rather horrible. My husband said they pulled what they could through the cage and ate it … that mean feet, wings, etc. He lost about twenty out of thirty chicks to them, several pullets and some ducks. They’ve gone after rabbit feet and toes before too. If they can pull it through, it’s not safe. Sorry to be gross, but better to be warned if you ever raise anything.
Good grief Yousei – that’s awful. Raccoons look so cute that it’s easy to forget what wild, hungry creatures they are.
This is fascinating, Amy! I’m so relieved we don’t have racoons in our garden – your poor lawn looks quite dreadful… 😦 Oh dear… Those must have been very hungry racoons to have gone to so much trouble… perhaps they’re feeding a family back in the den?
Reggie, I’ll bet there are quite a few of them in a den somewhere behind my yard. The babies stay with their mother for a year – just so that she can teach them all her tricks – and they’re likely a hungry bunch too.
Hmmmm…they are all very sweet, but I had THREE in my kitchen last night when I was rtrying to get the cats in! I’d never seen one face to face before. Im,agine three faces! Don’t care for the smell much either!
Lynne, that is so funny! Here you are, just barely back in Canada and you’re entertaining raccoons in your kitchen already! Those civilized British cats of yours probably invited them back to your place for tea!
We occasional have a problem with moles undermining our lawn but having seen the mess a raccoon can make, I’ll never complain about moles again!
James, the raccoons have removed small divots from the lawn before but never have they made a huge mess as this. I’ve seen the odd star-nosed mole in my yard but have never seen any evidence of their tunneling.
My goodness–wonder what he would do at a turf farm. He is quite skilled. Sorry about your lawn.
Alice, apparently raccoons can do quite a quick number on newly laid sod. Because my lawn was so neatly peeled back, it was easy to put back in place, but the culprit has since returned to pick it apart again here and there.
Your poor lawn …
Sybil, the lawn will recover. Maybe this just provided some much needed aeration 😉
I didn’t know they’d do that to a lawn. I’m glad ours just raid the peanuts left for the squirrels. Red Green: that brings back some funny moments.
Patti, maybe if raccoons have peanuts offered, they don’t resort to other forms of foraging. It IS a lot more work for them to get worms. Red Green was pretty funny wasn’t he?
Dunno about raccoon mate choices, but if I ever ponder tying the knot again handiness will most definitely be a high priority. A handy forest ranger would be just about perfect.
Gerry, handiness is an admirable trait indeed and any man who is at home in the forest deserves full marks.
Grubs…slimy but satisfying. 🙂 Raccoons are a cunning bunch and they come complete with the bandit look to prove it.