Are Raccoons Evolving … Into Pets?
Raccoons love to live near humans, especially in urban environments where there happens to be lots of food (trash). Researchers from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock have observed subtle anatomical changes in these little trash pandas that suggest they are becoming domesticated by spending so much time around us.
In other words, they are evolving into pets. The study, led by biologist Raffaela Lesch and co-authored by 16 of her students, involved analyzing thousands of photographs of raccoons from around North America. The team noticed that raccoons in urban areas have shorter snouts than those in the country, which is a classic physical trait associated with domestication.
Unlike livestock, which humans have intentionally domesticated, our most common housepets – dogs and cats – were initially tamed by accident. Wolves started sniffing around human garbage heaps, a familiarity that begat domestic dogs; same for cats, attracted to our refuse (because of the attendant mice). Raccoons might be on the same path, and the common denominator is garbage.
“Trash is really the kickstarter,” Lesch says in a university news release. “Wherever humans go, there is trash. Animals love our trash. It’s an easy source of food. All they have to do is endure our presence, not be aggressive, and then they can feast on anything we throw away. It would be fitting and funny if our next domesticated species was raccoons.”
Okay, but it’s too early in raccoons’ evolution to try to pet or approach them. Trash pandas are still wild animals that can be aggressive, especially when cornered or protecting their young. They’re also purveyors of rabies, roundworm, and leptospirosis.
Lesch et al’s study revolves around biometry, the application of statistical analysis to biological data. Next up: the biology professor and her students will study other “wild” animals that are comfortable in urban spaces, namely armadilloes and opossums.
The new research is published in Frontiers of Zoology.
Photo credit: Anne Sch / Pexels
