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Raccoons: BehaviorRaccoons are a great example of behavioral adaptation in action! In their natural forest environment, they nest in trees and eat everything from berries to fish. They are mostly nocturnal, which means they come out at night.
As night creatures, they are not seen by humans very often.
For some people living in suburban areas, however, raccoons can seem like one of the biggest pests — and it's all our fault! As humans destroyed the raccoon's natural habitat, these animals have learned to change their habits — to adapt. Instead of nesting in trees, suburban raccoons have made very comfortable homes in people's attics, basements, garages, and storage sheds. Since they are not picky eaters, they have traded forest food for the delicious leftovers found in our trash. Using their grasping hands, they have learned to open garbage cans and gates, creating quite a problem for their human hosts!
