Human refuse is ‘kick-starting’ the domestication of raccoons

City-dwelling raccoons are showing early signs of domestication. Using photos uploaded to the citizen science platform iNaturalist, researchers found that raccoons in urban environments had shorter snouts than their rural counterparts. The difference could be one of several traits that make up 'domestication syndrome', the scientists wrote in a study published in the journal Frontiers in Zoology. Domesticated animals typically become less aggressive towards humans over time. They gradually develop a relationship in which people provide for them in exchange for resources, such as meat and milk from livestock or labour from herding dogs. That process often involves selectively breeding animals for certain desirable traits, but it doesn't always begin that way. "I wanted to know if living in a city environment would kick-start domestication processes in animals that are currently not domesticated," said Raffaela Lesch, a zoologist at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

- WORDS SKLYER WARE

Domestication begins when animals adapt to a new niche created by the presence of humans. For raccoons, that niche might involve rooting around in our rubbish bins. That waste makes for an easy meal for the critters. “All they have to do is endure our presence, not be aggressive, and then they can feast on anything we throw away.”