University of Wyoming Raccoon Project

Why do you study raccoons and other urban carnivores?
Cognition is the way that animals perceive and use information from their environment, and includes skills like learning and problem solving. We are interested in the link between animal cognition and adaptation to environmental change, especially urbanization. We study the behavior and cognition of raccoons and other successful urban carnivores so that we can better understand how these animals use cognitive skill, like learning and problem solving, to thrive in human environments, and how urbanization may be driving evolutionary change in the cognition and behavior of wildlife.

Wait, I thought raccoons were omnivores? Why do you call them "urban carnivores?"
Yes raccoons (and skunks!) are omnivores, meaning they eat a variety of food types (including both meat and plants). But raccoons are in the order Carnivora, which includes many different families like ursids (bears), canids (dogs), felids (cats), and mustelids (weasels), to name a few. So although they might be dietary omnivores, they are often referred to as carnivores or carnivorans.

Where do you study raccoons?
We study raccoons in the town of Laramie, Wyoming (home of the University of Wyoming). We study raccoons at night in the backyards of Laramie residents and business owners that have agreed to let us access their property, as well as city and public lands. We cannot thank the Laramie community enough for their support of our research!

How do you trap and handle the raccoons?
We trap raccoons (and striped skunks) once a year using humane live traps. We then immobilize the animals with a fast-acting anesthetic that allows us to safely handle them. During this time we record the age and sex of the animal, we collect several biological samples (blood, hair, whiskers, and feces), and we identify the raccoons in a few different ways: we mark the raccoons with ear tags that have a unique number on them, so that we can identify the raccoons visually. We also mark raccoons and skunks with a small passive integrated transponder tag (PIT tags; like a microchip that is used with dogs and cats), which is placed under the skin behind the animal's shoulder blades. And a small number of raccoons that we trap are fitted with very high frequency (VHF) radio collars. We monitor the animal's vital signs the entire time they are immobilized (temperature, heart rate, and respiration rate) so that we can ensure their safety. After the animal has recovered from the anesthetic, we offer them food and water and then release them at the spot they were originally trapped. If we trap any animals that are not raccoons or skunks (such as cats or mink) we release them right away.

Why are the raccoons marked with ear tags, PIT tags, or VHF radio collars?
The raccoons are marked with ear tags so we can identify them on camera, and so if we trap them again we know they have already been trapped previously and we can release them immediately. We mark each animal with a PIT tag so that we can identify them at our study sites during our behavior and cognition experiments, which is more effective than relying on ear tags alone. And finally some of the raccoons are fitted with VHF radio collars. The radio collars emit a signal that we can detect using VFH telemetry equipment, so this allows us to track and locate the animals, which is very helpful when we want are looking for a place to set up our experiments. It also allows us to learn more about the ecology of these animals, including their movement patterns and home range size, providing a better understanding of how raccoons live and behave in human environments.

I am having problems with raccoons on my property. How can I resolve this issue?
One of the reasons we are so interested in studying raccoons is their remarkable ability to thrive in human environments. But sometimes conflict can arise when humans and wildlife try to share the same space. If you have raccoons or other urban wildlife spending too much time at your home, we first suggest getting rid of any appealing resources: remove bird feeders at dusk, secure trash can lids, and seal any openings to your home that might make a cozy den (repair any external home damage, cap your chimney if you have one, etc.). For more specific information, try looking online. There are many helpful websites with suggestions for humanely preventing and evicting wildlife from your home (for example: https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/what-do-about-raccoons).

Where can I learn more about your research?
You can follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or check out our website (http://animalcognitionlab.org/raccoon). Here is a recent video about our raccoon research featured on Science Friday, where you can see our trapping process and the puzzle box experiment that we need your help with!