Can raccoons use tools?

[@SAUD_BUSTER_777]

There is a video out there of a raccoon called Rocky, I think, who was named for his ability to use a rock to tap on the sliding glass door to get the homeowner’s attention and bring out some food.

[@OONSDAY]

I'll look into that. If so, that's incredible 😲

[@SAUD_BUSTER_777]

@@OONSDAY kzbin.info/www/bejne/eJ2Qgoxuac2ioNUsi=lQ6SVEMUC7IkeG8h

[@MarkMcNeil-bh7sn]

That's almost how I 🤔 ended up with my current raccoon 🦝just after I purchased my house the carbon monoxide/smoke detectors started going off. I thought it there was a problem with the furnace but it turned out to be the batteries 🔋. In the meantime I left the window 🪟 open slightly in order to have some extra fresh air circulation till the furnace guy came and checked it out. In the meantime the raccoon 🦝had come inside and started eating scraps out of the compost bucket 🪣 on my kitchen counter. After removing it 2× and finally figuring out the problem with the smoke alarms I was able to secure the 🪟 after which I went out to get the mail and when I got back the 🦝was on the porch looking through my storm door 🚪 I sat down on the steps and began speaking to it softly. It then began going back and forth between me and the door chittering loudly and finally putting it's paws 🐾 on my legs 🦵 and then grabbed my beard as if to say come on fool it's freezing 🥶 out here. Needless to say I cracked up 😂😂😂and let it in.

[@IX-xj8cy]

Thanks to all of you who shared stories about your raccoons! So cool! 🦝💙

[@nachita0819]

Nacho is just very nosy 😂 when I bring something home and place it on the floor, he inmediately comes to see what it is and starts smelling and smelling 😆

[@diamondpaintingbywynter]

Sweet Moira is definitely the alpha. After all, isn't she the Momma and Grandma to most of your crew? She deserves all the respect (and nums.)😅😂 I wish I could foster an Oon but he would put me and it out. 😅😂 Missy and her babies are beautiful. ❤❤❤

[@SweatyHatMan]

There's a video of a Raccoon trying (and eventually succeeding) in propping up a wooden plank to get out of a dumpster

[@OONSDAY]

I'm aware of that, and to me, that qualifies as tool use. I've seen a Honey Badger do something similar. Thanks

[@AjinkyaMahajan]

Pet oon to cuddle with all day is like a dream come true 🦝🦝🦝🦝💖💖

[@PCFixer]

Lucielle is beautiful -- and lovely to see Little Miss and her babies! Raccoon tool use, hmm... Grandmother Moira is DEFINITELY the Matriarch!

[@Kat.Creates.and.Feeds.Raccoons]

I don’t know if they used tools, but they figured out how to unclasp a food barrel and I have trouble opening that clasp. I’ve had to put a key lock on it.

[@Kat.Creates.and.Feeds.Raccoons]

I also have seen them work as a group.

[@jamiewinters8789]

My Bandit loved to play with coins. I had a handful of nickels, dimes and quarters. She wanted them bad. So I let her have them. She separated them by size, lined them up (as if they were in coin roll), put them in her mouth. She carried each off and hid them in different places. I watched her do this whole thing. We would play what I called coin in the cup, she would put them in and take them out. She learned how to turn on faucets, flush toilet, open a regular door knob and open and close sliding windows. She could open a child proof bottle and disassemble anything, including a watch, she took if off my wrist when I was sleeping, removed watch off the band, removed back and separated the watch parts.

[@OONSDAY]

That's so incredible 😲 😮 😯!!! Thank you for sharing your experiences with us.

[@jeskac209]

What a genius 💕

[@sherriecox4506]

They are very intelligent ❤

[@debbienickles4727]

Forrest could open Anything he wanted to! Thats the difference though - raccoons are like cats in a way that its what They want, not so much what we want! LOL! HAPPY Fourth to you and your family and Raccoons, Mr Oons! BIG HUGS ❤❤❤

[@OONSDAY]

Happy 4th of July and Happy Oonsday 😊 😃

[@jeskac209]

One time we were camping and i left the hamburger buns in the car. I forgot to roll the windows up. The next morning i found the bag of buns open and they ate the buns. I also found our dog bowls in the bushes😸

[@jamiewinters8789]

Pulled drawers out in order to climb up to top of dresser.

[@OONSDAY]

Very clever to understand the outcome in advance. True sign of incredible intelligence!

[@MarkMcNeil-bh7sn]

Yeah, that's definitely a common problem with raccoons if you have them as pets 😂

[@rebamcentire1522]

Bonnie pulls drawers out too. She use to have a drawer all to herself . I eventually had to raccoon proof her closet in her bedroom because she was yanking close off hangers etc tearing things up like they do. She's pretty good now. Not so destructive anymore.

[@MarkMcNeil-bh7sn]

@@rebamcentire1522 😹😹😹and here I thought mine was bad for taking the clothes off of the drying rack and dragging them over in front of my favorite chair 💺 and telling me to fold em 😹😹 being a bachelor I usually just pull off whatever I need to get dressed for the day until I do another load of laundry. Unless the 🦝does it first. 😹

[@skytechbits]

I threw a shelled peanut out for a squirrel and then a goose ran over to use it's bill to open the shell and eat the peanut. A duck couple was there too but they did not have a clue about what to do with the peanut in the shell. They loved the peanuts out of the shell instead. I've witnessed crows put food into the water to soften it and then eat it. I saw a crow keep checking the squirrels position in order to quickly pick up a shelled peanut to open and eat. Crows seem to always be a communicator and a thinker. Animals are amazing. Thanks for sharing. You are helping the raccoons so much.

[@OONSDAY]

I've heard of crows that pick up burning cigarettes and use the smoke 🚬 to kill mites and fleas in its feathers 🪶

[@MarkMcNeil-bh7sn]

​@OONSDAY yeah they actually do that. I had a couple when I was a kid and one of them actually took my dad's cigarette 🚬 from the ashtray and poked it around in the feathers 🪶 afterwards it dropped it and had we not seen it the house would have burned down. You have to understand that growing up i had almost exclusively exotic animals as pets. Because my parents were career military 🪖 serving in embassies all over the world 🌎.

[@Kalyahna]

I feel like cats are more emotionally intelligent than intellectually intelligent, if that makes sense. Then again, cat people recognize that cats are smart enough to have gotten servants out of the whole domestication deal, so it kinda evens out. 😁

[@OONSDAY]

I hear you! They are masters of manipulation, too. My female cat of 20 years usually slept on my chest each night or in my arms. My male cat would jump hard on the bed to wake us up and then go running down the hallway. My female cat would also purposely bump into the gravity water feeder, causing it to make noises that she liked.

[@Kalyahna]

@@OONSDAY My older girl would greet me when I came home by putting one paw on my leg and using the other to touch my face when I leaned down to pet her. She also slept up under my pillow in the crook of my arm while her daughter slept under the covers behind my knees. When the older girl passed away, the daughter moved into her mom's spot.

[@annak2922]

Raccoon intelligence--great subject! I don't have a pet raccoon, but I've seen some videos where raccoons act in peculiar and funny ways. Examples: hitting a rock against a glass patio door to produce noise to let the human inside know that someone outside is waiting for food; making specific gestures with hands/using signs to communicate; music production--hitting/rubbing rocks/other objects against each other to produce rhythmic sounds for a long time and listening to the produced sounds; pretending that they are doing/not doing something to fool a human to achieve a goal; quiet/cool observation and being able to repeat a series of actions (they have good memory and are able to plan/develop strategies); an insatiable curiosity and the need to test/learn about objects/environment--it's like they can't stop analyzing things. They are easily trained do various things, such as toilet use or eating a meal with their family at a table. They can bike or ride a scooter. They don't mind walking on leash like dogs. They can make friends with all animals, but they seem to become best friends with dogs.

[@OONSDAY]

All these reasons and more are why I admire this animal so much. I bet they are capable of so much more too!

[@annak2922]

@@OONSDAY Oh boy... we are just start learning about what they are capable of... 😉

[@MarkMcNeil-bh7sn]

I can definitely say that they do indeed know how to use tools 🔧 to get whatever they want especially when it involves the searching for food and treats 😋 mine has figured out how to use and flush the toilet. Quite by accident i think 🤔 of course it also thinks that the toilet🚽 is a TV 📺 because when I bought the house 🏠 I installed a fish 🐟 tank toilet 🚽 from aqua one technology. Google fish n flush and you can check out the various models. My raccoon will sit and stare at the fish 🐟 swimming in the toilet 🚽for hours and keeps trying to figure out how to get into the tank for what he thinks 🤔 is food 😊

[@A.L.Gardner]

Your lab sounded absolutely amazing, it's very much an individual thing. My parents used to tell me about one particular cat which worked out how to open a door, not any door but one with an old fashioned Suffolk latch and it opened inwards. The cat had to jump, put one paw through the handle, use the other paw to hold the latch down then kick the door post to swing back. Interesting re testing the oons. A lot of primate tool use involves them using sticks to access food in holes, maybe try them with peanut butter?

[@OONSDAY]

That's a good idea 💡. Perhaps I could rig a long tube with peanut butter at the base with some sticks in the tube. Maybe they will make the connection 🤔

[@A.L.Gardner]

@OONSDAY Worth a try, I've been filming bonobos doing that and I have faith in oon intelligence 😉

[@thegatesofdawn...1386]

Happy 4th! 🇺🇸 My uncle had a dog that knew the word "vet." He'd hide under the bed if he heard it. 😅

[@OONSDAY]

I believe that! My cat knew that the crate meant vet and would run and hide.

[@thegatesofdawn...1386]

@@OONSDAY 😆

[@DebbieMcGuckin-od7ch]

My raccoons will pull their plate of food into the entrance when they have the babies so they can eat unwatched. Pretty cool since it is a big cermic plate, actually for under a plant pot, lol😊❤❤❤

[@annak2922]

We have to think what intelligence is: is it the ability of the brain to perform analytical functions, or responsiveness/making connection with the human owners? Dogs are probably best responders and are excellent at connecting with their owners. And this is why they can be trained and perform tasks that we described as work. Cats respond poorly and don't engage as much as dogs, and I have never seen a working cat. 😆😆😆 Raccoons can be very responsive and engage, but they do what they want to do. Scientists test raccoons intelligence by forcing them to perform tasks that benefit raccoons, not humans. One task is getting access to food that requires good analytical/observational skills. Raccoons pass their analytical skills to the kits. If momma knows how to open a box, her kits will know how to open that box too.

[@DebbieMcGuckin-od7ch]

I think the reason we don't see raccoons using tools is because of their hands. They take food to water, they use their hands to move things, open things, climb things, make nests in trees, etc. 😊❤❤

[@OONSDAY]

Let's figure out how to have them use tools. I'm working on something already. Look out monkeys, here come the OONS!

[@ziggywzl]

I was going to comment with the video of the oon using a rock to knock on the door but Anita posted it first. So in lieu is not tool usage but a raccoon creating their own sign language to tell the human "Hey, I want what you have, but I'm afraid of you, drop it onto the floor". That's a wild raccoon coming up with an unique sign to communicate with another species and get the message across! kzbin.info/www/bejne/qIjPeWlsfNeaecksi=_JgJBqfofXasX0qI

[@OONSDAY]

I have an oon I call Circus Bear that will stand and clap its hands. They are clever at manipulation through body language. So intelligent!!!

[@ziggywzl]

@@OONSDAY absolutely! And they come up with those signs on their own to communicate, it isn't something anyone taught them, they just created a way to get their messages across, like Circus Bear who created that sign to say "I'm here, give me some treats". Oons are so amazing!

[@annak2922]

I actually had a cat who was very responsive. I could teach him how to open doors, drawers, refrigerator, turn on the light, perform various tricks, and communicate when he wanted something/wanted to show me something. He could let himself in/out and feed himself. He followed me around the house and observed what I was doing with curiosity. When I was explaining things to him, I would take his paw to show him how to use something, and he learned how to use his paw after a few repetitions. He knew plenty of words and commands. The communication was exceptional. I could see his brain working behind those squinted eyes. Perhaps this could happen because I got the the cat when he was about 4 weeks old, and he thought I was his momma. I shouldn't sign off the cats...😅😅😅 Perhaps the best study of the raccoon intelligence could be done by an owner who is able to connect with a raccoon on the raccoon level and respects that raccoon's needs, and becomes the guide for that raccoon for survival/flourishing in the human world.

[@OONSDAY]

That's amazing what you accomplished with a cat. They are so strong willed. Not many cat owners can claim that they had any control over their cats behavior. Awesome!

[@annak2922]

@@OONSDAY We were just very close and did a lot of things together. Or it was me experimenting with his behavior, and he didn't have a choice but to do what I wanted him to do. I have to admit: he was very patient with me and allowed me to handle him in strange ways... 😆 We definitely loved each other... had good time together...

[@dtkraccoon]

For my ones I they have a box and they move it to get to places, like I put them food on a table and they have to move it to get there and most of the times the one who gets there will push all if it down for the others too. They will also try to do lot of things to get to the place they want or when they want to play, its very hard for them to give up and do other things. Also I had dog they did go together well but raccoons are way smarter and better at least I think, if you take good care of them and if the raccoon does like you they will form very good friendship, bond too and they will trust you more then any animal. They are very smart animals.

[@OONSDAY]

That is tool use! So very clever!

[@philbellaandtrace1232]

As we are in the UK, we don't have raccoons so we don't have any raccoon stories but we have a very clever kitty, she can get on the heater that we don't use, in our hallway and open our bathroom door using the handle lol the first time we saw her do this it was awesome and so funny, animals can surprise you with what they can actually do, love watching these videos, they warm our hearts, thank you for showing us these precious Oons, we love them all ❤🙂❤

[@OONSDAY]

Smart kitty. Kitty might figure out the faucet next!

[@philbellaandtrace1232]

@@OONSDAY lolol yep lolol 😅

[@IndyPhyllis]

Maybe when the raccoons use the very tall trees..... That's a sign of intelligence. The way they find food, water and shelter..... Enough to survive through the winter and summer, that's a sign of intelligence. 😁. And also the way they form bonds and relationships with you... That surely is a sign. I like that little stick fort that you built, the animals really seem to like it....all of them. And I'm so glad you are still seeing Tiny Tim and the others at your house, that is a sign of intelligence...... They know that you are good to them, and you are safe to approach. All of these things they've had to learn and experience. And there is no better teacher than daddy Oon. I would say you have enriched these raccoons lives. ❤️❤️❤️❤️. And taught them a few things. Happy Oonsday to you and your family.

[@OONSDAY]

I spent time with Tiny Tim and others on the patio last night. I was able to pet him. Hazel brought her babies and they were curious of my wife. I'll have video in a couple of days. Raccoons are one of the smartest North American mammals !!!

[@fds6720]

I miss you, Mr. Weiner! I wonder if you're okay!

[@OONSDAY]

I spent a lot of time outside last night hoping to see him. I saw Tiny Tim, Moira, Cleopatra, Brutus, Nervous Nelly, Bill and Jill, Circus-Circus, Cutie Monster, Lucille, and lots of babies, but no Mr. Wiener.

[@fds6720]

@@OONSDAY I hope that noone hurt him or got hurt on the road. I pray for Mr.Wiener to be ok.📿📿

[@rebamcentire1522]

Besides opening the door to go outside and coming inside the house from outside when I put Bonnie in her kennel one time in my truck to take her to my vet I had to stop by work on my way, she let herself out of the kennel ( it had 2 latches) she was having fun in my truck, she locked me out but when she seen me she came right up to my door and stepped on the door locks and unlocked my truck. I put her back in the kennel and she was out in 5 minutes! I had to tie the locks

[@MarkMcNeil-bh7sn]

@rebamcentire1522 😹😹😹that's funny. And fortunately I know a vet that makes house calls. Even though mine has hated the vet from the very beginning 🙃

[@rebamcentire1522]

@@MarkMcNeil-bh7sn she was on her way to get spayed. Poor girl,

[@MarkMcNeil-bh7sn]

@rebamcentire1522 poor thing. Must have sensed it. That's why she tried to escape.

[@Kahlan2111]

Can you set up critter cams? It looks like you have a large enough area, do you think you'd be able to set some activities up for them?

[@OONSDAY]

It's a public park and the cameras would be taken

[@Kahlan2111]

@@OONSDAY That’s unfortunate!

[@anitahardesty2163]

Yes here's the link for the video of the racoon using a rock to get the homeowners attention. So smart and cute to!! kzbin.info/www/bejne/eJ2Qgoxuac2ioNUsi=XprzlsGibOMDPsC2 🦝

[@OONSDAY]

WOW!!!!! Thanks for the link. This is definitely tool use in my book!

[@nachita0819]

@@anitahardesty2163 I saw that! So precious 😍 my raccoon doesn't do much since he's handicap, but he's very smart and gets around

[@annak2922]

How much time does it take to do all that job?

[@OONSDAY]

I think my patio games were more timely. It still is an hour or more in the woods.

[@annak2922]

@@OONSDAY It's not that bad, looks more time consuming. Obviously, you are very well organized and know your routine! 🙂