Raccoons in cities may be growing tamer and cuter to get on with humans

Raccoons living wild in cities in the US are beginning to show physical changes that resemble early signs of domestication, a study shows.

- Anna Betts

They develop shorter snouts than rural counterparts, according to the research produced by the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

‘This was typical of a physical trait that appears in animals that have lived close to humans over long periods, along with adaptations such as smaller teeth, curlier tails, smaller brains and floppier ears.

“I wanted to know if living in a city environment would kickstart domestication processes in animals that are currently not domesticated,” said the study’s lead author, Dr Raffaela Lesch, an assistant professor of biology at Little Rock.

“Would raccoons be on the pathway to domestication just by hanging out in close proximity to humans?”

To find out, Lesch and her team analysed nearly 20,000 photos uploaded from the US toiNaturalist, a community science platform.

They concluded that, across the country, raccoons living “in close contact with densely populated human environments experience areduction in snout length”. They observed a “3.56% snout reduction between rural and urban raccoons”.