Nature Myths, Debunked

(Page 5 of 5)

April/May 2006
By Terry Krautwurst 
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Raccoons are true omnivores—eating everything from greens, berries and nuts, to garbage, bird eggs and baby rabbits. They gobble such meals on the spot, no washing involved. In spring and early summer, however, raccoons with access to streams or ponds also feed on crayfish, frogs and other aquatic critters. The raccoon searches underwater with its sensitive five-fingered forepaws, feeling and handling every object until it encounters a potential meal. The raccoon retrieves the object and examines it, turning it this way and that, sniffs it, dunks it a few times, then re-examines it, and maybe dunks it and/or sniffs it some more, before deciding whether to eat it. Although sand and grit may be removed in the process, this behavior probably doesn’t have as much to do with washing food as it does with simply finding and feeling it out.

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One thing’s for sure: The raccoon that steals my just-ripe sweet corn every summer never takes time to drag the cobs to a stream for a quick rinse.

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  • Ira 8/8/2008 9:48:18 PM

    What a wonderful article. Your writing style draws in the reader's attention and won't let it go. Great to know the reality of those childhood myths that still go through our head each time we encounter them.

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