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Urban Raccoons Evolving Shorter Snouts in Early Domestication
Urban raccoons have snouts about 3.56% shorter than rural ones, indicating early domestication likely driven by habituation to human environments and food access.
- Recently, Raffaela Lesch, assistant professor of biology at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, found urban North American raccoons had a 3.56% shorter snout using nearly 20,000 iNaturalist photos, the study published in Frontiers in Zoology reported.
- Because cities offer abundant scraps and fewer large predators, urban raccoon populations face selection favoring bold but calmer individuals that tolerate humans, reflecting natural selection for tameness.
- Using photo metrics, the researchers measured snout-to-skull ratios from photos, analyzed skull geometry with computer software, and conducted the study in a biometry class led by Raffaela Lesch with 16 students and additional undergrads and grads.
- The study suggests urban raccoon populations show early domestication syndrome, but researchers warn they remain wild animals and vector species for diseases, so households should avoid handling them.
- Next, Lesch plans trapping studies to compare genetics and stress hormones between urban and rural raccoons and test whether similar patterns appear in armadillos and opossums, reflecting broader impacts of human expansion.
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Leaning Left14Leaning Right4Center34Last UpdatedBias Distribution65% Center
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