Humans are constantly building and taking up more space in the wild, because of this, raccoons have had to move out. So what do urban raccoons eat in urban areas?
Urban raccoons eat all types of foods, even trash. In the trash, they have access to thrown away and discarded foods such as burgers, hotdogs, chips, poultry, doughnuts, bread, fruits, peanut butter or jelly from the container. They will also eat your pet’s food
Wild animals that live in urban areas have had to get creative with their diets. As people take over more wildlife habitats to create urban areas animals are forced to live alongside humans in these urban areas. Thus, they have adapted to live in human-dominated ecosystems, they have also adapted their eating habits. So, what do raccoons in urban areas eat? This article looks into it. Whether you are a concerned homeowner, a raccoon lover, a wildlife enthusiast, or just curious, this article is for you.
Table of Contents
What do urban raccoons eat?
Because these animals are not fussy eaters they can eat almost anything. They are opportunistic feeders and thus eat both plant and animal matter. Raccoons will scavenge for food in trash bins looking for any discarded garbage food, on top of that they’ve learnt how to open garbage cans.
This gives them access to thrown away and discarded foods such as burgers, hotdogs, chips, poultry, doughnuts, bread, fruits, peanut butter or jelly from the container and anything else that you may be throwing in the garbage.
These animals do not care if the food has gone off, they will eat both fresh and rotten food, in a way, their bodies have evolved to do so. They will even eat pet food if you leave it out. Raccoons can open latches and this gives them access to foods.
If you leave any type of food out where raccoons can reach these animals will remember where that food source is. They have good memories and will keep coming back to the area.
If raccoons live close to campsites they will rummage through your picnic baskets and eat your picnic foods, they’re not picky about what they eat.
What can raccoons not eat?
This animal may be able to eat a variety of garbage foods but there are some foods that they can’t eat. Raccoons can’t eat onions and garlic, these foods can cause anaemia in raccoons. Everyday foods like macadamia nuts and chocolate are also delicious for humans but are toxic to raccoons.
In addition, from a health standpoint, junk foods such as chips, burgers pizzas and french fries are bad for raccoons, bad for wild animals and bad humans as well. These foods can cause raccoons to gain huge amounts of weight, they can also cause them to develop diabetes and obesity just as in humans
How do raccoons find food?
Raccoons find food through foraging. These animals go out at night to forage for food using their senses. They don’t have good eyesight so they use their sense of smell and their sense of touch to find foods.
They have the option to forage at night thanks to their sense of smell and touch. Their eyesight is not very good, but the rest of their senses make up for the bad eyesight.
As soon as a foraging raccoon smells food it will change direction towards the food. They will use their nose to determine what food item it is. Their hands are very sensitive and communicate to the brain what the food is, this helps them understand what food they’re holding, even if they can’t see it
Summary
In summary, raccoons in urban areas will eat whatever they can find. They are opportunistic eaters and thus are not very picky with her food choices. Raccoons will eat food from the garbage such as discarded lunches, dinners and breakfasts whether it is fresh or rotten. They will also look for pet food to eat.
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: why do raccoons tear up lawns, how do raccoons find food, why are raccoons different colours, why are raccoons nocturnal, why are raccoons protected