No, Raccoons Aren’t Pet-Ready (Yet)

Short Wave

NPR

Science, Life Sciences, Daily News, Astronomy, News, Nature

4.7 • 6K Ratings

🗓️ 22 December 2025

⏱️ 17 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Dogs are man’s best friend. And it’s no secret that we at Short Wave love cats (Regina has four)! Both of these iconic pets have been domesticated – evolved and adapted to live alongside humans – for millennia. And a recent study suggests that the common raccoon may be on its first steps towards joining them.

So how do scientists look for signs of domestication and what do those signs mean? And could you have a litter box trained raccoon in your lifetime? We talk to the study’s lead author, Raffaela Lesch, to find out.

Interested in more animal science stories? Email us your question at [email protected].

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1:33.0	In North America, raccoons are everywhere.
1:37.2	The common raccoon is native to forest habitats, but a lot of them live in urban areas,
1:42.1	close to humans, like the one that I'm pretty sure lives in my front yard,
1:45.6	and the one that fell through that ceiling in the Virginia liquor store
1:49.4	broke all those bottles, then was found passed out drunk next to a toilet.
1:53.1	He's okay, he sobered up and was released.
	...

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