Are raccoons smart or... A child asks to buy him a raccoon

Every year it becomes more and more interesting to have an exotic animal at home, which is distinguished by its bright color, unusual disposition or unpredictable habits, which distinguishes it from ordinary domestic rats and cats.

It is precisely this animal that becomes the topic of discussion. An animal that requires an exceptionally reverent attitude towards itself, that will turn your house upside down, an animal that will change your previous life. A cute animal called a raccoon.

A little about the raccoon

The cute, fluffy creature was nicknamed the raccoon thanks to its similar relative, whose skins were widely used by manufacturers of clothing and household items. The so-called gennet furs subsequently evolved into a more simplified and conversationally friendly form - the raccoon. To this day, the word raccoon is associated only with a reactive and cunning animal with a bushy tail.

In the wild habitat, the raccoon takes root only where there are swamps or ponds. After all, it was not for nothing that he was nicknamed the raccoon. This animal will wash clean everything that comes to hand and can be enjoyed. Fuzzies also take root well near human settlements, where they often hunt in landfills and steal food left unattended. Everything that a person can eat and that is very nutritious and tasty in smell will be immediately stolen by this little troglodyte.

Raccoons can have a shelter and resting place in several places at once. These could be small hollows in trees not far from the ground, already dug holes for rodents or moles, or holes in rocks. In general, a small place where you can hide from the rain and wind. The sleepy period begins during the day, and at night an active lifestyle begins, in which there is only room for food. And since he loves to eat everything that lies poorly and smells good, the search for food will not end until the raccoon has had enough.

Choleric by nature, the raccoon behaves boldly when surrounded by potential danger, which awaits him at every step. These could be wolves, lynxes, ordinary street dogs. If it fails to escape from the offender, the raccoon may pretend to be dead. But this is only in case of inability to answer. Raccoons know how to fight and are not afraid to show their temper, which is why they often survive in such situations.

The search for a breeding partner begins in February. At the same time, the males begin to rush around and look for a more ready and suitable female. Courtship and mating games of raccoons end with 64-day gestation of 4-7 puppies, after which the female no longer allows anyone near her offspring and remains to raise them on her own.

Raccoon at home. All the pros and cons

Before you bring a semi-wild animal into your home, ask yourself the question: is it worth having a raccoon at home? If you are accustomed to a quiet, peaceful daily flow and do not like change, then you will have to change your lifestyle and come to terms with many facts that your child will provide in all colors and concepts.

Your habitat largely depends on it; you shouldn’t get a little animal in a city apartment, where there won’t be much room to run around and look for something new. Raccoons don't sit idle. At night, they only awaken their appetite and desire to climb where they shouldn’t. If you have a large apartment and there is a lot of space to build an enclosure, then the problems are a little less. Although, owners of small apartments are not at all afraid of the fact that their gray sneak will be bored in such a shack, because raccoons are essentially a freedom-loving animal.

If there are other animals in the house, the raccoon will be jealous of all the attention that is paid to someone other than him. Therefore, having and raising a raccoon is one thing, but dealing with its ego is another. Raccoons cannot stand competitors, so other animals will suffer from the oppression of this rebellious animal. You should also be careful with invited guests, whom your pet, perhaps, out of “unexpectation,” will want to teach a lesson, so that they do not show up to His Majesty the Gray Striped Tail without an invitation and provisions.

Often the owners themselves suffer from the selfish nature of the raccoon. At a young age, learning and getting used to everything new, the baby can be affectionate and reach out to you at the first opportunity. But as puberty approaches, the animal becomes more aggressive and simply moves away from you. Ordinary caresses are now like a challenge for him. So beware of temporary mood disorders. At this time, you need to think about introducing your pet to a partner.

Raccoons, like any other animal, mark their territory and thereby emit specific odors that not everyone can tolerate. But again, domestic cats, marking their territory, create no less unfavorable odors. Therefore, to people who are used to it, this may seem like a common thing.

It is worth stocking up with enormous patience and tolerance. After all, a raccoon will never understand that he is not allowed to do something and that he has done something wrong. Screaming and swearing will intensify the struggle of negative emotions, which, if not quelled, he will want to throw out on you. No one wants to be bitten or scratched, so sooner or later you have to adapt to living with a raccoon.

The raccoon's curious nose will visit wherever it can in the house. Any doors, any drawers and chests of drawers that are strong enough for a raccoon will be brazenly broken open and gutted. Therefore, if you value things, as a memory or at least as a means of living, close all cabinets tightly. The first favorite place is a garbage can, where the gray bloodhound will want to find something to eat.

If you decide to buy a raccoon and leave this fluffy little boy at home, nothing will stop you. Nor the problematic nature of the raccoon,
neither his content nor his upbringing. Patience and good luck!

Animals are the most amazing living creatures on our planet. The diversity of their species is so great that it is sometimes difficult to appreciate their intelligence. In the end, all animals live driven by instincts that they have developed over many centuries of existence and struggle for survival. It is for this reason that adequately assessing their intelligence is not an easy task. What makes things even more complicated is the human desire to anthropomorphize animals and try to find signs of human intelligence in them. However, there are also animals that fall into the latter category, meeting many of the criteria for intellectual development that people so diligently look for in them. Today we invite you to get acquainted with the twelve most intelligent animals on our planet, selected not only based on human ideas about intelligence, but also on their abilities inherent in nature itself and inherited from their ancestors.

12. Rats

Rats are commonly thought of as disgusting disease carriers that live in gutters, scurrying through sewers and garbage cans in search of food. And in fact, all this is not so far from the truth; after all, it was rats that carried the plague, which claimed countless lives. But besides all this negativity, rats are also incredibly smart creatures, this is especially evident when it comes to adaptation. Rats will live and thrive in almost any environment. In addition to this feature, they are endowed with excellent memory.

11. Proteins


And although squirrels do not particularly stand out from the rest of the inhabitants of the animal world, their amazing ability to collect and store food supplies for the winter has attracted our attention. Squirrels have become so successful in this activity that they have acquired special camouflage and deception techniques that allow them to steal food from other animals. Studies have shown that squirrels are excellent at predicting the behavior of other animals, which makes the process of robbery easier. In addition, the rodent has an almost impeccable memory, creating its own maps of the area, where all hiding places are marked.

10. Crows


Crows are one of the smartest birds in the world. They learn from older birds the ability to adapt and solve complex problems. Moreover, crows do an excellent job with various kinds of tools, be it an ordinary leaf, a stick or a stone. In addition, crows are well versed in social conflicts and love to use them to their advantage.

9. Raccoons


More often than not, these masked bandits are viewed as real pests, just like the trash scattered across the lawn left after a nightly visit from raccoons! All this is understandable, but in addition to their harmful disposition, these animals are distinguished by their intelligence and intelligence. They are able to efficiently solve complex problems and use tools. After all, how did a raccoon manage to open a trash can without using intelligence? Among other things, raccoons are famous for their high level of sociability, which allows them to inform their brood about the status of your trash can and when to make an outing next.

8. Cats


Everyone's favorite cats are widely known as smart and cunning animals. And although they can be taught almost all the same commands as dogs, cats are better able to adapt to their environment compared to dogs. If there is delicious food nearby and a great place to sleep, the cat will choose it. By nature, cats are loners. This trait, combined with a highly developed instinct of self-preservation, allowed cats to perfectly adapt to almost any environment.

7. Elephants


Elephants, with their inherent self-awareness, stand out as a separate group of animals. They are able to show sympathy not only for representatives of their own kind, but also for other species of animals. The most amazing talent of elephants is their ability to recognize themselves in the mirror. This proves that the giants of the animal world are well aware of their existence in the world around them.

6. Octopuses


One of the most intelligent creatures of the sea, the octopus is a remarkable hunter, developing complex strategies for effective ambushes. Octopuses, like elephants, have shown signs of self-awareness and have shown excellent abilities in using available tools and processing visual information. Curiosity and the desire to avoid boredom make the octopus similar to humans. And although much of the octopus's intelligence is not yet fully understood, there is no doubt that it is one of the smartest sea creatures, and probably the smartest invertebrates in the world.

5. Dogs


Dogs are interesting because their level of intelligence varies depending on the breed. Despite this difference, all dogs, without exception, are very easy to train and obedient. Based on dogs' ability to respond to and follow commands, scientists suggest that they have more emotional intelligence than other animals. This allows dogs to empathize with their owners. Some studies have shown that dogs are able to recognize photographs of other dogs and themselves.

4. Bottlenose dolphins


Bottlenose dolphins have one of the largest brain sizes in the animal kingdom. This allows dolphins to use the most complex forms of social communication with their relatives through language; moreover, they even use separate names for each member of the pod. Moreover, they are able to teach young animals everything that they themselves were taught, as well as use a system of praise and reward for success. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of dolphin intelligence is their ability to recognize themselves in the mirror, which also proves that they have a sense of self-awareness.

3. Pigs


Research shows that a middle-aged pig has the same level of intellectual development as a three-year-old child. Ironically, pigs are actually clean, even cleaner than most domestic animals. Research conducted in the 1990s examined the intelligence of pigs and assessed their ability to form complex memories. The animals were shown a set of figures on the screen, and then they were required to restore the order of the figures they saw in another picture using a patch. By the way, the same study was also conducted with chimpanzees, which showed the same results as KK and pigs.

2. Chimpanzee


Chimpanzees share 98% of their genes with humans, so it would be fair to assume that they are the smartest animals in the world. They are very familiar with the skills of using tools and can adjust their territory to suit themselves. During laboratory experiments, chimpanzees also showed signs of self-awareness, empathy and even mercy towards other animals. The greatest sensation was caused by laboratory studies of the memory of chimpanzees, where their performance surpassed even that of humans.

1. People


We are all animals, aren't we? That's why we decided to add a person to our list. It is enough to look around the world around you to understand that at the moment man is the smartest animal in the world. Apart from social skills, our emotional spectrum, ability to create and improve, all show human superiority over other species.

Level 2 task

"...I was about to slowly climb out the window, but Lyusya remembered again - they have to insert the missing letters into the words. My teeth even began to ache with frustration. Who is interested in doing useless work? The letters in the words are omitted on purpose, the most difficult ones. to my mind, it’s not fair. No matter how much I wanted to, I had to insert it.

P..friend of my harsh days,

My decrepit g..lu..ka...

Lucy assures that Pushkin wrote this poem to his nanny. Her grandmother told her this. Does Karandashkina really think I’m such a simpleton? So I will believe that adults have nannies. Grandma just laughed at her, that’s all. But what about this “n..other”? We consulted and decided to insert the letter "a"..." ("In the Land of Unlearned Lessons" by L. Geraskin)

Fill in the missing letters in the passage. (Text for analysis) Think about what rule applies in each specific case? Try your hand at creating these rules for a student who doesn't understand the rules in the textbook.

When we think of raccoons, most of us think of annoying creatures that do nothing but rummage through bags of trash and cause mischief. But Melanie puts an end to these offensive misconceptions. She is a multi-talented animal who can clap her hands, dance, mop the floor, play the drums and even ride a two-wheeler! A 4-year-old raccoon who lives in Kent has the development of a small child and may be the smartest and most talented raccoon in the world.

Melanie, who knows more than 100 teams, became an internet sensation after her owner posted a video of Melanie riding her bike on You Tube.

And also, according to rumors, the talented raccoon will play the main role in his own TV show

Melanie's owner Kimberly Unger, 35, said: “I have the most incredible bond with little Melanie. Raccoons are exceptionally smart animals, but Melanie is special - she has the intelligence of a small child."

“Raccoons are generally not the best pets because they can be too mischievous and temperamental.”

“But Melanie is a great fit for me because I have the patience, dedication, experience and level of training to work with such a unique animal.”

Kimberley, who moved to England five years ago to study horses, adopted Melanie at eight weeks old

She said: “My goal is to spend as much time with her as possible. She is very friendly with people of all ages and other animals. She is used to traveling in a car, bus, train and walks well next to me when we need to go grocery shopping."

When we learned how intelligent some animals are, we became uneasy. Perhaps we are not watching them, but they are watching us.

20. Turtles

It was not for nothing that Tortilla the turtle in Alexei Tolstoy’s fairy tale was the personification of wisdom. Many modern studies confirm that some species of turtles have remarkable intelligence.

Turtles are trainable, they easily find a way out of the maze, can adopt the skills of other turtles, are well domesticated, quickly cease to be afraid of humans and feed from their hands.

19. Cephalopods

Cephalopods are the most intelligent of mollusks. Many of them have the ability to mimic, octopuses successfully pass the “look and remember” test and have excellent navigational abilities.
Squids live in schools, and scientists have already suggested that they have their own codified language.

18. Bees

Bees are the supermen of insects. They can navigate by the Sun, sense the Earth's electromagnetic field, and remember visual objects. In addition, bees are social creatures. They know how to communicate with each other using the so-called waggle dance.

17. Crocodiles

Scientists now recognize that crocodiles are overly demonized. An American zoologist from the University of Tennessee, Vladimir Dinets, observed crocodiles for 10 years and came to the conclusion that, firstly, they are trainable, and secondly, playful.
There is a known story when a crocodile lived until his death with a man who cured him after being wounded. He calmly swam with his friend in the pool, played with him, tried to scare him, allegedly attacking him, and even allowed himself to be stroked, hugged and kissed on the face.

16. Sheep

Sheep in the generally accepted view are narrow-minded animals. However, modern research suggests that sheep have a good memory for faces, are social animals and are capable of building relationships. Their main problem is fearfulness. They don’t want to show their weakness so much that they don’t complain about pain until it becomes impossible. Quite humanly.

15. Pigeons

We all know about pigeon mail. This type of communication, which has existed much longer than most modern ones, is based on the ability of pigeons to “homing” - the instinct to return home. In Russian history, Princess Olga took advantage of this effectively.
The pigeon's brain is capable of processing and storing huge amounts of information. Pigeons collect it using all their senses. The eyes of a pigeon are designed in such a way that they remember only the necessary information, cutting off everything unnecessary. Pigeons have very sharp eyesight combined with excellent memory. This allows them to formulate a route based on visual impressions.

14. Horses

Horses are smart and cunning, they have a good memory. Akhal-Teke horses are monogamous. They serve one owner all their lives.

All horses are trainable. Thus, an Arabian horse will never step on your foot, and the police breeds “Budenovtsy” and “Donchak” are trained to disperse crowds, so you shouldn’t expect delicacy from them.

13. Parrots

Everyone knows that parrots are capable of onomatopoeia, but parrots can do more than just talk funny.

The African gray parrot can be compared to a 3-4 year old child in its intellectual and emotional development. Parrots have a good memory, they are capable of empathy and expression of emotions, they learn and have rare intelligence. So, parrots living in the wild place nuts under the wheels of cars so that they crack them.

What's interesting is that parrots continue to develop, and their analytical thinking abilities increase.

12. Navy Seals

Fur seals are not only cute, but also very smart. They are trainable and easy to train. Cats have a great built-in navigation system. Despite the fact that they are school animals, fur seals go hunting alone and generally display individualism.

11. Raccoons

Raccoons are trending today. These smart, sociable animals have extraordinary intelligence. To get food, they are able to solve logical “multi-steps” and actively use tools in order, for example, to open a garbage can. They are able to remember the solution to a given problem for three years.

10. Raven

Crows can remember and distinguish not only the volume and weight of an object, but also the material from which it is made. Thus, crows will never put a piece of wood into a vessel to increase the water level, but they will put a stone.
Ravens are not called “feathered primates” for nothing - they know how to use a mirror and a digging stick

9. Jays

Jays are the Einsteins of the bird world. Like all corvids, they have a phenomenal ability to remember and imitate sounds. When jays hide food, they do it very cleverly, and then, if their hiding place is found, they can spy on the thief. This led scientists to the conclusion that jays are capable of putting themselves in someone else's shoes, looking at the situation through someone else's eyes - the eyes of a potential thief. This is a rare property in the animal world.

8. Proteins

If you go into the forest now to feed the squirrels, you will see that the squirrels themselves will hardly eat - they will prepare food for the winter, hiding it in hiding places. Squirrels have a very good memory. They remember all their thousands of bookmarks for two whole months.

Squirrels are excellent thieves, and they can not only run/grab/escape, but also wait and predict the behavior of a potential raid victim.
Squirrels are cunning. If they see a threat, they can pretend to bury the treasure in one place and then hide it.

7. Pigs

Academician Pavlov also noted that “the most nervous animal around us is the pig.” Pigs are smart and cunning animals. Hunters say: “If you’re going to hunt a bear, prepare a bed; if you’re going to hunt a wild boar, prepare a coffin.” You can never catch a boar with the same bait; these wild pigs have good analytical skills. Domestic pigs are purists when it comes to daily routine. They remember feeding times especially quickly.

6. Rats

Rats are one of the smartest animals. Rats, like us, dream, they communicate with each other in the ultrasonic range so as not to be heard by predators. In this case, rats are able to suddenly change the frequency of signals.

Rats have a rich vocabulary of screams with special meanings. The rat is the only mammal other than humans that can laugh. Recently, scientists discovered a reaction in rats to funny situations.

Rats, as you know, are not loners. They know how to build a hierarchy in their society. Conducted by Didier Desor, a scientist from the laboratory of behavioral biology at the University of Nancy, experiments showed that the greatest degradation of the brain as a result of stress was in exploiters - they were afraid of losing power.

5. Cats

Domestic cats are able to express their feelings through facial expressions, gaze, movements, accurately recognize human intonations, and even imitate them. Cats have better memory than dogs. If a cat finds itself outdoors, it joins the pack. They have a strict hierarchy and distribution of responsibilities. Some researchers consider such flocks to be a sign of secondary feralization, that is, a return to a wild state.

4. Dogs

The intelligence of dogs is a scientifically proven fact. These animals are trained and have a good memory. Recent research confirms that a dog is a very intelligent friend of man.
Scientists at Harvard University, USA, working under the guidance of Professor Mark Hauser, have proven that dogs are able to “parody” human facial expressions and gestures. They are echoed by scientists at the University of Vienna Psychology, who published research results in the journal Current Biology, confirming the ability of these animals to “selective imitation.”

3. Elephants

Sharikov in Bulgakov’s novel said: “Well, I don’t understand, or what? The cat is another matter. Elephants are useful animals.” In some ways he was right: in practical terms, an elephant is indeed more useful than a cat. They have been man's faithful helpers for many centuries.

Aristotle echoes Polygraph Paligrafovich: “The elephant is an animal that surpasses all others in wit and intelligence.” Elephants really have a very good memory and flexible mind. They even turned out to be capable of learning human language. An elephant named Kaushik, living in Asia, has learned to imitate human speech, or rather, five words: annyong (hello), anja (sit), aniya (no), nuo (lie down) and choah (good).

2. Whales

When we say “whales,” we mean whales, dolphins, and killer whales. These are some of the most intelligent representatives of the fauna. Much has been written about their abilities and superpowers.
In captivity, whales can even learn to imitate human speech. They imitate it by sharply increasing the pressure in their nasal cavities and causing the sound lips to vibrate.
The abilities of cetaceans are already recognized at the state level: in India this year, dolphins were recognized as individuals and dolphinariums were banned.

1. Primates

Humans and apes are approximately 98% genetically similar. We put monkeys in first place in our rating. Their learning ability is amazing, their memory and intellectual abilities have amazed scientists for many years.

Monkeys have learned to live next to humans, steal from them, and deceive them. In India, Hanuman's langurs, temple monkeys, are recognized as one of the sacred animals. They are famous for their ability to steal anything they like. Nothing can be done about this - langurs are untouchable.