Raccoons: Tricky Trash Pandas or Misunderstood Masterminds?

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With their probing paws and destructive behavior, the raccoon has gained a reputation as a garbage bandit, capable of finding a meal in any urban landscape. Yet despite their proximity to our homes and their evident resourcefulness, very few researchers have truly tested the problem-solving abilities of the “trash panda.” As part of a multi-year study exploring the cognition of raccoons, researchers at the University of Wyoming’s Animal Cognition Lab are pushing the limits of the species’ learning by providing both captivity and street-dwelling specimens with a variety of tests.

Produced by Luke Groskin
Music by Audio Network
Additional Footage ands Stills by Lauren Stanton, Rachel Fanelli, Wyoming Raccoon Project,
University of Wyoming Animal Behavior and Cognition Lab, Pond5, Lawrence W. Cole,
Yu-Yuan Chen (CC BY 2.0.),Brian Crockford (CC BY 2.0.), Youtube User Iv D. A. (CC BY 2.0.),
Youtube User Kings of the Road (CC BY 2.0.), Benjamin Ballerstein (CC BY 2.0.),
David Edgar Stahl (CC BY 2.0.), SMM Exhibits (CC BY 3.0),
Jelbert SA, Taylor AH, Cheke LG, Clayton NS, Gray RD (CC. BY 2.0)
Special Thanks to Lauren Stanton, Sarah Benson-Amram, Volcano, Hudson, Paprika, and Tarragon.