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Raccoons are showing early signs of domestication

scientificamerican.com

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Re: Raccoons are showing early signs of domestication

#161

Post by IAmBroom »

tzs wrote: post #87
nunez wrote: post #59

People have been trying to make the house raccoon a thing: https://old.reddit.com/r/raccoons From what I remember spending time on this topic, raccoons need super challenging locks as toys and TONS of engagement from their keepers because they get bored easily and bored raccoons == ultra destructive raccoons. Also, rabies.

Assuming you are starting with a wild raccoon, get one from a population that is not in the eastern parts of the US or Canada and rabies is unlikely. Here in Washington state for example there have been no documented cases of rabies in any wild raccoon in at least 60 years. Same goes for all other wild terrestrial mammals here.

Or, use extreme caution in handling the animal in the first few days.

Rabies is neither subtle, nor slow.

Re: Raccoons are showing early signs of domestication

#162

Post by devin »

LandR wrote: post #150
jb1991 wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you were talking about the rabies vaccine, for humans, that’s not really a normal vaccine for people to get. It’s not like getting the flu vaccine or the chickenpox vaccine or others, and they shouldn’t be lumped into that same category.

How is it not? I'm currently 1 of 3 injections into getting a rabies vaccine and it's basically like every other vaccine I've had. A simple, painless, injection in the arm. I got it the same time as my first shot of the Hep B vaccine too.

This style of rabies vaccine is for pre-exposure. Post-exposure vaccination is more involved if you aren’t primed.

In addition, it used to be the case that people received abdominal shots and the course was pretty intense. That has ended, but people remember it.

Re: Raccoons are showing early signs of domestication

#163

Post by IAmBroom »

scotty79 wrote: post #105
indoordin0saur wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most cat breeds still look more or less like their wild relatives.

Cats aren't really domesticated. Out of many, many cat species we just found one that's well aligned with humans and it spread with humans to the whole world. No other cat species plays well with humans and none shows any signs of domestication.

Citation required for claim that runs counter to most scientific evidence.

Re: Raccoons are showing early signs of domestication

#164

Post by IAmBroom »

neom wrote: post #35
alexsngai wrote: post #30

I want to see an intelligence-optimized domesticated raccoon breed, like the raccoon equivalent of a border collie

Get a pet rat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AV9z0c1hjnA (I'll convince you all to get pet rats eventually!!! :))

Breed a rat with a furry tail, and you will overcome all resistance. That hairless tail is creepy - and I say that as an admirer of pet rats.

Re: Raccoons are showing early signs of domestication

#165

Post by IAmBroom »

cosmic_cheese wrote: post #83
Sohcahtoa82 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dogs are certainly better at looking intelligent. I think dogs, being a more social animal, are more eager to please, and so are willing to be trained. Cats can vary wildly. One of my cats seems dumb as a box of rocks and haven't even grasped the idea of object permanence. If she's tracking a laser, and I move it around a corner, she can't figure out where it went. She goes from intense staring and tracking to standi…

> Cats can vary wildly. One of my cats seems dumb as a box of rocks and haven't even grasped the idea of object permanence Similarly I've seen cats have one of two reactions to a mirror: ignoring it entirely or actually using it by e.g. looking me in the eyes and meowing at me through it. While I've not witnessed it personally on the internet there's also tons of videos of cats freaking out and trying to fight the ot…

I had a kitty that met her reflection on our first day together.

Step 1: Meow at "other" kitty.

Step 2: Walk around mirror to meet other kitty.

Step 3: Stare other kitty in face near edge of mirror, then suddenly bat paw around the edge to tag that elusive sucker.

Step 4: Sit and ponder.

Step 5: Accept that there is no other kitty. Hmmph.

One. Smart. Cat.

Re: Raccoons are showing early signs of domestication

#166

Post by IAmBroom »

underlipton wrote: post #81
cogman10 wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't really understand this. Isn't it about as surgically invasive as getting a pet spayed? Does the scent gland do anything more than just stinking? For a cat, removing the claws literally removes bones from them. It limits their mobility and hurts like hell. (Not that I want a pet skunk. Just curious as to why it's unethical)

>Does the scent gland do anything more than just stinking? It's part of their communication system. There's no direct corollary in human qualia, but you might say it's akin to permanently destroying your ability to flirt or tell other people that something belongs to you. You would still experience the impulse, but not have the cognitive equipment to do so any longer. Removing scent glands destroys the physiological…

That's a wildly stretched metaphor. Spraying a threat with a chemical weapon so powerful it will deter a hungry predator is not akin to winking at a cute girl or boy.

And if the scent gland is "part of their communication system", then a loaded 45 is part of a (domesticated, modern) human's.

Re: Raccoons are showing early signs of domestication

#167

Post by IAmBroom »

ForOldHack wrote: post #73
oxw wrote: post #3

> “I’d love to take those next steps and see if our trash pandas in our backyard are really friendlier than those out in the countryside,” she says. Would they have to measure "biological" friendliness, comparing lab raised countryside-descended and city-descended raccoons? Domesticated animals can be very unfriendly. Feral cats for example.

Oh right. But how do they taste? Asking for a friend.

Not great. My late dog and I agreed on that (although he had his raw, after freezing).

The raw meat is even smelly.

Edit: Dexter did say that, after a few days of aging in the forest, the flavor improved considerably. He was even willing to share.

Re: Raccoons are showing early signs of domestication

#168

Post by IAmBroom »

potato3732842 wrote: post #5
oxw wrote: post #3

> “I’d love to take those next steps and see if our trash pandas in our backyard are really friendlier than those out in the countryside,” she says. Would they have to measure "biological" friendliness, comparing lab raised countryside-descended and city-descended raccoons? Domesticated animals can be very unfriendly. Feral cats for example.

It'll be interesting to see what their methodology is. Trapping tends to piss off any raccoon regardless of urban vs rural.

Honestly, measuring the distance to which a single raccoon approaches is a pretty good proxy. City birds are self-domesticating right now; wrens willing to be on the same table as a human get more fries to eat. (And I've actually used this metric on them: the same one or two reliably get closer than the others.)

Re: Raccoons are showing early signs of domestication

#169

Post by cindyllm »

IAmBroom wrote: post #165
cosmic_cheese wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Cats can vary wildly. One of my cats seems dumb as a box of rocks and haven't even grasped the idea of object permanence Similarly I've seen cats have one of two reactions to a mirror: ignoring it entirely or actually using it by e.g. looking me in the eyes and meowing at me through it. While I've not witnessed it personally on the internet there's also tons of videos of cats freaking out and trying to fight the ot…

I had a kitty that met her reflection on our first day together. Step 1: Meow at "other" kitty. Step 2: Walk around mirror to meet other kitty. Step 3: Stare other kitty in face near edge of mirror, then suddenly bat paw around the edge to tag that elusive sucker. Step 4: Sit and ponder. Step 5: Accept that there is no other kitty. Hmmph. One. Smart. Cat.

[dead]

Re: Raccoons are showing early signs of domestication

#170

Post by looperhacks »

_the_inflator wrote: post #132

So Kassel, Germany, may have hope to be less harassed in the future? FYI, Kassel kinda is the so-called capitol of raccoons. 30k+ raccoons life there, according to estimates. I certainly would not want to live there. It is crazy how these animals flock together and invade properties. And they aren't shy anymore due to the reverse positive reinforcement they receive by not killing them. Yes, it is of course in Germany…

> Yes, it is of course in Germany forbidden to kill an invading predatory species - even on your property. This is Germany 2025.

Raccoons can and are hunted in Germany, what are you talking about? The federal laws regarding hunting don't mention them and thus allow states to decide. I haven't checked every states local laws and executive orders, but I'm not aware of any that don't allow hunting raccoons.

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