An endangered pygmy raccoon turned trash into toys—and taught her family how, too
The endangered animals displayed a first in raccoons and their kin
A tiny pygmy raccoon used trash to create toys and taught her family how to do the same, marking a first in raccoons and their relatives. Nessie O’Neil, a biology graduate student at Miami University in Ohio, witnessed a pygmy raccoon named Nessie pick up a receipt from a trash bin and repeatedly dunk it in water. She then formed a ball and played with it, seemingly for the first time.
O’Neil, who studies these critically endangered raccoons in Mexico's Cozumel Island, shared the "cute" video with her advisor, who recognized it as a possible major discovery. The journal Wild recently published O’Neil’s research, which could be the first documented evidence of "material culture" in the Procyonidae family, a group that includes raccoons, coatis, and ringtails.
This behavior of teaching others has been observed in some primates, pigs, and dolphins. O’Neil’s research opens up new areas of study, emphasizing the need for more protection and conservation efforts for these intelligent animals.
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