Pat, pat, pat, pat, pat, pat, pat…
When this raccoon started coming around to forage this spring, it looked like it was playing pattycake…that, or playing piano!
We were curious about these paw movements!
What we learned: Raccoons have a highly developed sense of touch. You can almost think of their paws as a second pair of eyes! The nerves in their forepaw pads help them figure out what things are, so they touch, rub, and roll things a lot.
Along with their good hearing and strong night vision, raccoons feel their way around their environment and are able to distinguish objects and come up with solutions to problems (like opening containers!). They have good memories too. They can remember solutions for years, perhaps because of all the different senses they use to develop them.
We aren’t sure, but we think this raccoon was using the birdbath for more than a drink…wetting paws stimulates the nerve endings and makes them even more sensitive. The moisture helps the raccoon’s paws tell if something is food or not.
Turns out, “forepaw pattycake” is a raccoon super power! It is one of the reasons they are a very adaptable species.
Pat, pat, pat, pat, pat, pat, pat…