Thursday, January 22, 2015

Far-Back Turn in the Loop (Videos)

My blog celebrates two milestones today. This is entry #600, and yesterday I went over 18,000 all-time page views.
 
I really thought this would be an active spot, as the camera was near a major intersection of the loop, a path back to the cabin, and another which goes up a draw to the tree stand. When I checked the camera today, I found it upside-down on the ground and later learned that tripod had been knocked over just after midnight. It's pretty obvious who did it, as there were no other visitors on the videos.




Not sure I've noticed before how the raccoon seems to pat the ground to find the kernels of corn. They must have very sensitive paws. 

1/24 Update: My friend Angela has attached a great bit of information about the feeding habits of raccoons. Click on the 'comment' below this video.


1 comment:

  1. I found the following info about how raccoons use their hands on a blog called eMammal https://emammal.wordpress.com :

    "The hands of a raccoon are incredible appendages and shape how raccoons interact with the world. The hands of a raccoon have many times more touch receptors than their feet and a lot of the processing space in a raccoon brain is dedicated to their hands. They often to use their hands to “see” in situations like foraging underwater, feeling under overhangs, and moving in the dark.

    The fact that raccoons use their hands as both tools and as one of their most important sense organs has led to the myth that raccoons wash their food. Raccoons in captivity have been observed “washing” their food, which is actually repeated dipping and rolling of food items in water. This behavior has led to a widespread belief that raccoons wash their food before eating or that they need to soften their food. This behavior is not really washing and food preparation but an outlet for a raccoon’s constant need to use their hand to sense the world and look for food. In the wild raccoons are constantly dabbling in water and searching in nooks and crannies, and in the captivity this behavior finds an outlet in food “washing”. Some biologists have described the behavior more as feeling than washing, and this description is supported by the fact that raccoons often rub and roll their food even in dry enclosures and rub their hands together even when they are not holding anything.

    The food washing myth has persisted because in the wild raccoons are constantly foraging in water and rolling and handling their prey, which often looks like they are washing their food. Raccoons do not have a very good grip because of the lack of opposable thumbs, and so they often hold items with two hands and frequently roll objects between their hands. If this behavior happens near water it also looks like washing.

    The truth is that raccoons in the wild do not really wash their food in any way that we as humans think of washing. They constantly forage in the water and will often roll food items in their hands, but they are actually looking for food and working to get it into their mouth with much less concern about how clean it may be."

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