You’ve probably learned that I like to make the last post of the day something upbeat or light, just like the U.S. evening news always ends on a positive piece. Here’s a raccoon who’s learned a nice trick. Watch the video below to see “Rocksy,” a procyonid who’s learned to knock on the glass panel door with a rock to ask for food. (Its soft little paws wouldn’t make an attention-getting noise.) Raccoons are, as the kids say, “awesome.”
I love that this woman likes the raccoon so much that she doesn’t care at all that it’s scratched the hell out of the door with its rock.
The YouTube notes:
“Knock Knock!” “Who’s there?” ROCKSY THE RACCOON!!!! This silly raccoon has figured out that after she has raided the cat food bowl and it is empty… that she will just knock on the door… FOR HOURS…. until I refill it! It is hysterical! She is adorable and has lived in my yard for years… not sure how she figured out how to knock… but it certainly works! LOL I have volunteered with Wildlife Inc. for years… they have taught me so much about wildlife rescue. If you would like to donate to help them keep up their amazing work, they can be reached at http://www.wildlifeinc.org.
That’s one persistent mother!
h/t: dano1843
The origins of rock music.
This wins the internets!
That paned me.
I wonder how long it would take the Raccoon to learn a new lesson. Like perhaps knocking -> hose.
Agreed. Raccoons killed my chickens, they eat suet meant for the birds, and they drowned the neighbor’s cat. At our house they’d get scared off and the next night we’d trap them (Havahart) and relocate them if they chose to return.
They drowned the neighbours cat?! Well, you’ll never catch who did it, what with the masks and all.
Masks and all…heehee
Interesting. The motion with the rock looks like how they often wash their food in a stream. I was hoping to see the woman dole out some dog food. Maybe he’s shy about eating in front of the camera.
Now I’m hungry. 😉
Interesting- maybe he recognizes glass as an amorphous solid and is simply pointing it out.
I’m hesitant to say this, but i don’t suppose it’ll take long before it figures it could throw the rock at the glass door or knock it with the rock. to quote Dr. Ian Malcolm, “…nature finds its way”
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Very cute, but it would be a pain at 3 AM. Pretty wimpy dog!
The sound on the pane maintained remained mainly a strain.
Ha! Dog shaming!
With that same motion, Rocksy could spin a stick between her hands to make fire…
I also watched the “Raccoons Are Awesome” compilation, which although cute and fascinating brought to my mind a couple of good reasons why raccoons would not be good pets for most people, even if raised from cubs and otherwise fairly tame, mainly that raccoons have the capability to open unlocked doors and cabinets and get into things, such as the fridge, that dogs and cats are physiologically incapable of getting into. Pretty much the same with monkeys, never mind chimps, which are also very strong. And while raccoons may be better problem-solvers than their carnivorous cousins, I’m pretty sure a raccoon wouldn’t be able to throw a rock with enough force to break a window, even if it tried. A chimp very likely could, although I’ve never read of any chimp attempting any such thing.
I suggest anyone interested in the subject of raccoon-as-pet read Frosty: a Raccoon to remember. Very heartwarming and appropriate for all ages. Frosty’s owner at one point has to basically hang everything on string from the ceiling to prevent the raccoon from getting into it. Frosty also significantly lowers the amount of available freshwater in the community (they use wellwater) when he discovers the toilet and decides to jacuzzi for the entire 8-10 hours his momma is at work.
Does this count as tool use?
I think so. They must have learned it by watching Homo habilis who first used stone tools in just this way.
Reminds me of an SF story I read recently : “Bears Discover Fire”, 1990, Terry Bissom.
Which appears to be on t’internet, with permission.
I wouldn’t overly worry about scratching the glass with a stone – most window glasses are up at about 6 – 6.5 hardness (Mohs’ scale) which not many common minerals exceed. (Quartz being the common exception, but whole crystal quartz isn’t actually that common.)
What’s there to be upset about? It’s non-primate art — an original, no less, and a work in progress!
b&
In a hundred years, folks will think a river went passed that window.
Unfortunately, the raccoons are on the move around our home. (We live in a relatively rural area, even though we are close to the city.) And there have been many of them road-killed lately. Seems to happen every fall.
Either feed it or kill it, one or the other. couldn’t be doing with that all day.lol