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Animals becoming roadkill is an unfortunate occurrence but this happens quite often on roads.

Animals and cars don’t always mix. You may be wondering whether opportunistic feeders such as raccoons will eat this meat. This article explores the question of ‘do raccoons eat roadkill’ 

Raccoons do eat roadkill. Roadkill is an ideal meal for raccoons because this is meat that does not have to be chased and caught. Raccoons will generally choose the path of least resistance when looking for food. Roadkill offers raccoons good amounts of proteins and other nutrients 

Do raccoons eat roadkill?

Animals that commonly become roadkill include larger animals like bears, elk, moose, and deer. Smaller animals that can become roadkill include armadillos, raccoons, skunks, opossums, and squirrels.

Scavengers and opportunistic feeders of all types will try to eat this food, raccoons included.

Raccoons will eat food from the trash, they are not above eating roadkill if they come across it.

Raccoons are made to eat almost anything, including roadkill:

Raccoons are omnivores, they are similar to humans in that they can eat both plant and animal matter. Their teeth enable them to tear into and eat meat as well as grind up plants as they eat.

Roadkill is simply another type of meat that these animals can eat. 

Raccoons may be able to catch a variety of animals but they prefer to eat foods that are easier to catch, or something that doesn’t need to be caught at all, like roadkill.

These masked bandits will usually choose the path of least resistance when looking for food.

Also, it’s harder to find food and fresh prey in urbanized areas, there are more roadkill animals in urbanized areas. Finding roadkill can be easier than finding live prey in urban areas. 

Benefits of raccoons eating roadkill:

Roadkill is both high in protein and low in fat. Protein is an essential nutrient that raccoons need in order to maintain a balanced and healthy diet.

The benefit that animal-based proteins offer over plant-based proteins is that animal-based proteins are complete proteins, the proteins in plants are usually incomplete proteins. 

Roadkill meat is also high in a variety of other vitamins and minerals. Raccoons fighting and killing live prey is much more difficult than stumbling on some roadkill.

The only hard work that comes with eating roadkill is done by the animal’s stomach. Raccoons have strong stomach acids which are able to digest raw meats. 

Do raccoons eat dead animals? 

Raccoons have no problem eating dead animals, if a raccoon stumbles on a dead animal, and if it is hungry, the raccoon will eat the dead animal. In fact, they prefer eating dead animals.

Eating dead animals eliminates the need for raccoons to have to hunt and kill prey to get a meal.

That being said, these animals will avoid any animals that seem harmful to them, this includes animals that are rotting. If the dead animal has bacteria on it, the raccoon will still eat it.

Raccoons have a long intestinal tract, this allows this animal to destroy most of the toxins that may be on foods like dead animals. Their highly acidic stomach acids also help to kill off any bacteria on the meat 

What food is toxic to raccoons? 

Although raccoons are seen as animals that can eat anything, raccoons cannot eat anything. Some foods are toxic to raccoons, these include:

Onions:

Raccoons will generally avoid eating onions but if these animals accidentally eat some onion, the raccoon can develop hemolytic anemia. This causes the animal’s body to destroy its own red blood cells

Avocados:

Avocados contain a toxin called persin, persin is not harmful to humans but it can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and heart congestion in raccoons. The seeds are also choking hazards for raccoons

Cocoa, chocolate, coffee:

All of these substances may be widely loved by humans but they all contain theobromine. Theobromine causes the raccoon’s heartbeat to speed up, it also derails the animal’s nervous system. 

Junk food:

Just as with humans, raccoons eating too much junk food can cause the animal to develop obesity. 

Conclusion 

In conclusion, yes, raccoons eat roadkill.

Roadkill is enjoyed by raccoons because it is highly nutritious and delicious while being easy to acquire. Live prey can be difficult to catch.

The raccoon’s long intestines and acidic stomach acids will kill off any bacteria in the meat. 

If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other raccoon related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in:  , Do raccoons eat turkey eggs?, Do raccoons eat iguanas?, What time do raccoons eat?