Raccoons break into liquor stores, scale skyscrapers and pick locks(theconversation.com)
29 pointsby pseudolus10 hours ago3 comments
  • notepad0x909 hours ago
    If you have raccoons in your neighborhood, get a laser pointer and watch them go crazy. other animals like squirrels, birds, opposums,etc.. don't care for the red dot, but raccoons try to chase it.
    • bryanrasmussen9 hours ago
      drive them crazy for a few nights, then go out to them the third night, they tense up, they are going to run but you crouch down trying to keep them calm, then you show them how to use the laser pointer, it will take a while but they will understand. When you see they have understood stand up and put your hands on your hips and laugh like the jolly green giant. Then go back inside. Look back out the window. They are all just standing there looking at you. They look pissed.
  • dboreham9 hours ago
    A racoon is the reason my cats live behind a flap/door controlled by an rfid reader. Prior to its deployment the racoon had learned to squeeze through the door then figured out how to open the latch on the food bin (quite difficult for a human to open). If I didn't have video of it opening the bin I'd have doubted it were possible. As mentioned in the article it looked as if it had rehearsed the unlatching ahead of time.
    • R_D_Olivaw9 hours ago
      All I think about when I hear and see these stories of raccoons being so slick:

      1: I completely understand the trope of the burger/heist person looking like a raccoon and

      2. I can't help but to think how useful they might be in search and rescue type scenarios. Or even just the terrain mapping aspect of it.

      • Loughla8 hours ago
        The problem with number 2 is that they're trainable until they don't want to be. Think like a cat, but smarter, with opposable thumbs, and a genetic vendetta against human made structures and humanity in general.

        Search and rescue would almost immediately become search, weirdly touch the face of victims with their weird little hands to see if they can defend themselves, eat part of the victim, rescue.

  • rickydroll9 hours ago
    I have been accused of loading a dishwasher like a mad raccoon would.