![]() Although, they do sometimes have to worry about domestic dogs. Without having to worry about predators like coyotes, wildcats, and wolves in an urban setting, they’re more likely to brave the daytime for food-scavenging purposes. In fact, the raccoon population has drastically increased in the last few decades because of their adaptation to living around people in urban and suburban environments away from their natural predators. However, in residential areas, they may scavenge through garbage, eat from your garden, or eat pet food instead. Raccoons forage for insects, water creatures, birds, eggs, slugs, dead animals, fruits, nuts, and seeds in the wild. Humans have destroyed much of the raccoon’s natural habitat in the last few decades. Raccoons come out in the day to look for food, in avoidance of predators, or to travel between dens. Why Would a Raccoon Be Out During the Day? However, you should contact a professional to capture it for testing if you suspect rabies. The only way to definitively determine if an animal is rabid is through laboratory testing. Rabies is nearly always fatal in humans that don’t begin rabies vaccinations after the acute period of the disease (within 2-10 days after a bite). ![]() If you’ve had any physical contact with a raccoon that is exhibiting any signs of rabidity–especially if they bit or scratched you–you should contact a healthcare professional immediately. Some symptoms of rabies in raccoons may include: However, if a raccoon is acting in a way you wouldn’t expect, it may be a cause for concern. Not all rabid animals drool and act aggressive like the movies would have you think. ![]() It’s not always clear that animals like raccoons have rabies just from looking at them. However, it is a good idea to know the symptoms to look for in a rabid raccoon to keep your and your pets safe. If you see a raccoon out in the daytime, that doesn’t mean that it’s rabid. Is a Raccoon Active During Daytime Rabid? Of course, in a neighborhood, raccoons may spend time during the day foraging for food as they would at night if they lived in the wood instead. Some areas that raccoons use as dens include:Īdult males may travel an area of 3-20 square miles, while adult females only travel in an area of 1-6 square miles. In the wild, raccoons use dens as a place to shelter and raise their young during the day. Wetting their hands helps stimulate their nerve endings even more to give them more sensory information about the object they are touching. If you’ve ever seen a raccoon washing its food, it’s engaging in a process called dousing. Thus, they’re more easily able to feed at night through differentiating objects without needing to see them. Their dextrous front paws contain around four times more sensory receptors than their back paws. Raccoons make up for their poor eyesight with incredibly-sensitive, hairless palms. Highly-Sensitive Hands is Crucial to Raccoons Feeding at Night They can hear snapping twigs, rustling leaves, or mouse squeaks to alert them of incoming animals. Having a wide hearing frequency range, especially in the higher frequencies, gives them an advantage for hearing prey or food approaching their location at night. This frequency range isn’t as wide as it is for dogs (67-45,000 Hz) or cats (45-64,000), but it’s far better than the human hearing range (64-23,000 Hz). Raccoons hear sounds at frequencies between 100 and 40,000 Hz. ![]() Their Acute Sense of Hearing Is Valuable at Night However, having less light coming into their eyes at night makes it easier to see objects. ![]() However, the trademark mask around their eyes helps absorb incoming light, which reduces incoming light glare that would otherwise hinder their vision. Their distance vision is even worse during the day when light reflection makes their eyesight less reliable. Raccoons don’t have great distance vision, which often causes them to avoid open spaces, especially during the day. One of the main reasons you won’t see raccoons out during the day in the wild is that they have better vision at night. Thus, you’re more likely to see them by day in an urban rather than rural setting. Thus, it’s not unusual to see them out during the daytime, especially when they’re searching for food in an environment that feels relatively safe from natural predators. However, in populated areas, raccoons are not strictly crepuscular and nocturnal. Raccoons are mainly crepuscular and nocturnal in the wild, which means that they are primarily active during twilight and at night. However, you’re less likely to see them come out in the day in the wild because they feel safer from predators in the dark. It’s not unusual to see a raccoon during the day, especially around your home. ![]()
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