WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:03.560 Oh hey, Hi, it's your neighbor who just needs a 2 00:00:03.600 --> 00:00:07.559 couple tips on how to start weightlifting real quick. Ali Ward, 3 00:00:07.839 --> 00:00:10.919 I'm back with an episode of Ologies that. Honestly, I 4 00:00:10.960 --> 00:00:13.519 know what's up. You squealed when you saw it. 5 00:00:13.759 --> 00:00:15.679 I get it. You said, Wow, the. 6 00:00:15.679 --> 00:00:19.920 Holiday times aren't going to be magical. Someone did get 7 00:00:19.920 --> 00:00:23.600 me a present. There is joy to the world. Let's 8 00:00:23.640 --> 00:00:28.079 talk about eating garbage raccoons. Okay, wow, So these critters 9 00:00:28.440 --> 00:00:32.960 they have these tiny alive doll hands and ample but donks, 10 00:00:33.119 --> 00:00:37.920 and they wear carnival cat burglar disguises. They got striped 11 00:00:38.039 --> 00:00:38.880 goth tales. 12 00:00:39.159 --> 00:00:39.840 What are they? 13 00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:42.159 Are they taking over the world? Why do we love 14 00:00:42.200 --> 00:00:45.479 them so much? And what can we learn from them? 15 00:00:45.640 --> 00:00:46.119 A lot? 16 00:00:46.240 --> 00:00:48.520 Okay, and we're going to do it via the world's 17 00:00:48.600 --> 00:00:53.399 most sought after raccoon expert who studied zoology and genetics 18 00:00:53.520 --> 00:00:57.560 for undergrad and psychology for her masters at the University 19 00:00:57.560 --> 00:01:01.200 of alberta kind of a rare combination. She now is 20 00:01:01.280 --> 00:01:06.359 a York University psychology professor and an animal behaviorist. She 21 00:01:06.560 --> 00:01:11.560 studied all manner of animals, from the reproductive drochronology of 22 00:01:11.599 --> 00:01:17.840 marmots naturally to rhino an elephant conservation, red wolf sperm, 23 00:01:18.200 --> 00:01:22.959 and anxiety in orphaned primates. But the world relies on 24 00:01:23.040 --> 00:01:26.959 her frankly, as an animal behaviorist and a Toronto resident 25 00:01:27.239 --> 00:01:31.040 to field questions about that thing in your backyard treating 26 00:01:31.079 --> 00:01:35.040 your coy pond like a sizzler. And she served as 27 00:01:35.040 --> 00:01:38.760 the on call behaviorist at the Toronto Zoo for literal decades. 28 00:01:39.120 --> 00:01:42.079 And if there is a well made documentary about raccoons, 29 00:01:42.159 --> 00:01:44.640 they have probably interviewed her first. 30 00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:46.319 Just google Raccoon Nation. 31 00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:49.359 If you don't believe me, you're welcome. Also, thank you 32 00:01:49.480 --> 00:01:51.799 to patrons for supporting the show for as little as 33 00:01:51.799 --> 00:01:54.560 a dollar a month. You send in questions there. It's 34 00:01:54.599 --> 00:01:57.719 at patreon dot com slash ologies. Thanks to everyone who 35 00:01:57.879 --> 00:02:02.560 passes episodes onto friends and family, and who subscribes and 36 00:02:02.599 --> 00:02:05.120 follows and rates and reviews. Those really keep it up 37 00:02:05.120 --> 00:02:07.280 in the charts so other people find it. I read 38 00:02:07.319 --> 00:02:10.719 your reviews, every single one of them, every week, and 39 00:02:10.759 --> 00:02:13.719 they are the singular pillar of my self esteem, like 40 00:02:13.759 --> 00:02:18.039 this one from Emma Garsh, who wrote The Genius Associated 41 00:02:18.039 --> 00:02:20.919 at Staples, printed so many things for me and is 42 00:02:20.960 --> 00:02:24.280 studying to be a marine biologist at CEEU Boulder. Of course, 43 00:02:24.360 --> 00:02:26.639 she listens to ologies too. If you're reading this, my 44 00:02:26.680 --> 00:02:29.479 dear Staples associate friend, Hi, maybe I'll hear you on 45 00:02:29.520 --> 00:02:33.759 ologies one day. Sign Emma, Emma and future choral expert. 46 00:02:34.240 --> 00:02:35.240 Oh hey, I. 47 00:02:35.159 --> 00:02:38.199 Love an office supply store truly and both of you. Okay, 48 00:02:38.840 --> 00:02:40.840 onto the ologist to the hour. Here we go. She's 49 00:02:40.879 --> 00:02:43.520 been at the top of my list for years. But 50 00:02:43.919 --> 00:02:46.800 I had this problem of like, what ology is. 51 00:02:46.680 --> 00:02:47.199 This going to be. 52 00:02:47.560 --> 00:02:49.439 There's got to be one. There has to be one. 53 00:02:49.479 --> 00:02:54.199 People love raccoons. Someone had the Twitter handle raccoonologist, but 54 00:02:54.240 --> 00:02:55.039 then they went off. 55 00:02:54.879 --> 00:02:56.120 To go study some birds. 56 00:02:56.520 --> 00:03:00.879 What about pro scionologist from the genus of the common 57 00:03:01.120 --> 00:03:06.879 raccoon procyon loader, which means before dog, creature that washes stuff. 58 00:03:07.159 --> 00:03:10.120 By the way, raccoon comes from the indigenous po Watten 59 00:03:10.319 --> 00:03:13.319 language and it means the animal that scratches with his hands. 60 00:03:13.639 --> 00:03:17.000 But the name for this it's kind of still being debated. 61 00:03:17.080 --> 00:03:19.159 But we're going to err on the side of the 62 00:03:19.280 --> 00:03:22.879 dryer science and also follow the lead of a Reddit 63 00:03:22.919 --> 00:03:25.439 post I read about what to call a raccoon studyer, 64 00:03:25.759 --> 00:03:29.840 in this case, a very knowledgeable, super dry strawberry blonde 65 00:03:29.960 --> 00:03:34.000 world adventure and a thinker about thinking. Who indulged me 66 00:03:34.120 --> 00:03:39.360 in this delightful chat about compost bins, chaos, whether their 67 00:03:39.400 --> 00:03:45.479 bottoms are ample enough, tree sleeping brainworms, the symphonic stylings 68 00:03:45.520 --> 00:03:51.400 of these loping muses, cartoon raccoons, bisexual icons, whether you 69 00:03:51.400 --> 00:03:54.960 should invite one to move into your condo, and really 70 00:03:55.319 --> 00:03:57.400 some of the best career in life advice you could 71 00:03:57.400 --> 00:04:01.280 ever get from these backyard babies. Bungee cord yourself in 72 00:04:01.400 --> 00:04:07.240 tightly for a feast of facts with psychologist, animal behavior scientist, 73 00:04:07.719 --> 00:04:13.199 professor and pro scionologist, doctor Suzanne McDonald. 74 00:04:32.360 --> 00:04:34.600 I'm doctor Suzanne McDonald. She her. 75 00:04:34.879 --> 00:04:36.800 I've been so excited. I've been wanting to do this 76 00:04:36.879 --> 00:04:40.160 episode for years. People have been begging for an episode 77 00:04:40.199 --> 00:04:44.040 about raccoons. I know, would it be do you think 78 00:04:44.079 --> 00:04:46.920 in terms of ologies, would it be raccoonology or would 79 00:04:46.920 --> 00:04:48.360 it be No? 80 00:04:48.360 --> 00:04:53.639 No, okay, no, that's ridiculous. No, it's just a We 81 00:04:53.720 --> 00:04:56.879 study animal behavior and raccoons are just a species that 82 00:04:56.920 --> 00:04:57.399 we study. 83 00:04:58.240 --> 00:05:02.319 Well tomorrow an expression from your grandmother, whoomp, there it 84 00:05:02.399 --> 00:05:05.519 is so the reigning North American expert on raccoons says, 85 00:05:06.199 --> 00:05:10.079 it's not raccoonology but ooh holiday bonus. Next week, I'm 86 00:05:10.079 --> 00:05:13.120 going to be dishing up a not Raccoonology Part two 87 00:05:13.439 --> 00:05:15.959 in which we talk to more experts who study these 88 00:05:15.959 --> 00:05:18.839 little ringtailed gremlins. And I asked them, I was like, 89 00:05:18.879 --> 00:05:20.360 what should I call this episode? 90 00:05:20.600 --> 00:05:24.079 So a few ideas for an ologies episode on raccoons 91 00:05:24.160 --> 00:05:30.040 could be raccoonology or maybe pro scionidology, or even banditology, 92 00:05:30.439 --> 00:05:35.680 pro seonology, raccoonology, raccoonology, procionidology. 93 00:05:35.879 --> 00:05:39.720 Procionology makes the most sense. Crafty buggerology would be more 94 00:05:39.959 --> 00:05:40.519 more fitting. 95 00:05:40.959 --> 00:05:45.639 So whether you're on team raccoonology or a pro scionology, 96 00:05:45.720 --> 00:05:50.040 perhaps crafty buggerology. One thing upon which society at large 97 00:05:50.079 --> 00:05:53.319 can all agree is that a group of raccoons is 98 00:05:53.360 --> 00:05:57.720 called a nursery. Oh wait, no, shoot, it's also called 99 00:05:57.720 --> 00:06:01.680 a gaze. Okay, well either either. So how did Icon 100 00:06:01.800 --> 00:06:04.759 and Wildlife bileage with doctor McDonald get so lucky to 101 00:06:04.800 --> 00:06:09.720 have a job gazing at gazes? How did you come 102 00:06:09.800 --> 00:06:13.639 to study raccoons? How did you end up in this field? 103 00:06:14.759 --> 00:06:17.959 Well, I've been study animal behavior for thirty years, so 104 00:06:18.160 --> 00:06:21.639 I work with many, many other species most of the time. 105 00:06:21.800 --> 00:06:24.519 So I work with the rangutans and polar bears and 106 00:06:25.480 --> 00:06:28.920 monkeys and elephants and hyaenus and kenya and I work 107 00:06:29.000 --> 00:06:31.759 with many, many species, and the only one anyone ever 108 00:06:31.800 --> 00:06:37.160 wants to talk about is raccoons. But that's fine. I 109 00:06:37.199 --> 00:06:40.160 started working with them about ten years ago when I 110 00:06:40.199 --> 00:06:43.079 was actually interviewed for a TV show and they said, 111 00:06:43.120 --> 00:06:45.759 we can't find anyone who studies raccoons. Could you, because 112 00:06:45.759 --> 00:06:48.560 I study animal behavior, could you, you know, tell us 113 00:06:48.600 --> 00:06:51.160 about raccoons? And I said, sure, but nobody really knows 114 00:06:51.240 --> 00:06:53.720 very much. And that's how I started doing research with them. 115 00:06:53.920 --> 00:06:56.399 Well why do you think there is such a fascination 116 00:06:56.480 --> 00:06:57.399 with their behavior? 117 00:06:58.720 --> 00:07:02.680 Well, I think there wasn't always a fascination with their behavior. 118 00:07:02.759 --> 00:07:06.519 So I do think that now that it's they're more 119 00:07:06.519 --> 00:07:10.279 common in cities and people are seeing them in their backyard, 120 00:07:10.360 --> 00:07:14.800 especially during the pandemic, I think that people just really 121 00:07:15.120 --> 00:07:18.800 really find them fascinating because they I think they kind 122 00:07:18.800 --> 00:07:21.839 of I've had people say they're like my spirit animal. 123 00:07:21.879 --> 00:07:23.680 It's like, okay, well I really hate that phrase. That 124 00:07:23.759 --> 00:07:26.759 seems like a terrible phrase. But I think the idea 125 00:07:26.959 --> 00:07:31.839 is that people really identify with them because they're kind 126 00:07:31.839 --> 00:07:35.079 of mischievous and cute. And they hang around and they 127 00:07:35.439 --> 00:07:38.360 eat a lot, and you know, honestly, if they could, 128 00:07:38.360 --> 00:07:40.399 they'd live in your house on the couch with the remote. 129 00:07:40.439 --> 00:07:44.160 And they kind of have a lot of human like behaviors, 130 00:07:44.199 --> 00:07:47.839 and so I think those characteristics make them appealing. And 131 00:07:47.839 --> 00:07:49.839 they're darn cute. I mean, how could you not love them? 132 00:07:50.040 --> 00:07:52.000 Yeah, they are very adorable. 133 00:07:52.759 --> 00:07:56.199 Was there something about animal behavior that always fascinated you 134 00:07:56.240 --> 00:07:59.920 growing up or how do you steer your career to 135 00:08:00.279 --> 00:08:00.839 the science. 136 00:08:01.839 --> 00:08:04.959 Well, I'm very interested in conservation and the environment and 137 00:08:05.079 --> 00:08:07.439 have been since I was a child. So I started 138 00:08:07.480 --> 00:08:11.199 a club when I was nine on conservation and animal behavior. 139 00:08:11.319 --> 00:08:14.720 So I don't actually remember any time when I wasn't 140 00:08:14.759 --> 00:08:16.360 interested in that. I think a lot of kids are 141 00:08:16.399 --> 00:08:20.240 interested in animals and animal behavior, and I talk to 142 00:08:20.279 --> 00:08:23.199 a lot of kids, and they're all super well informed 143 00:08:23.240 --> 00:08:25.199 and wonderful, and then they tend to lose it when 144 00:08:25.199 --> 00:08:27.160 they get a little bit older and get interested in 145 00:08:27.199 --> 00:08:31.279 something else. But I guess I maintained that I probably 146 00:08:31.279 --> 00:08:33.159 never grew up, I guess, and I'm just interested in 147 00:08:33.159 --> 00:08:36.799 animal behavior. But if we don't learn how to coexist 148 00:08:36.879 --> 00:08:40.000 with other species, we're just one puny little species. On 149 00:08:40.039 --> 00:08:42.480 the face of the earth. After all, in probably two 150 00:08:42.559 --> 00:08:46.120 million others, then we'll all be in big trouble. So 151 00:08:46.279 --> 00:08:48.200 it seems to be more important now than ever. 152 00:08:48.440 --> 00:08:52.240 Do you ever see a lot of similarities in the 153 00:08:52.279 --> 00:08:54.639 groups of animals that you work with or why do 154 00:08:54.720 --> 00:08:57.200 you study the ones that you study particularly? 155 00:08:57.600 --> 00:09:00.320 Ah, Well, there's always a project in minds, so there's 156 00:09:00.320 --> 00:09:04.039 a reason to do that. I'm interested in how animals think, 157 00:09:04.200 --> 00:09:07.399 and so I work with primates because other primates, like us, 158 00:09:08.639 --> 00:09:12.600 our cousins, think similarly to us, but also have enough 159 00:09:12.679 --> 00:09:15.399 interesting differences that we can learn quite a bit about 160 00:09:15.399 --> 00:09:19.080 how brains work, which is my primary interest as a psychologist. 161 00:09:19.440 --> 00:09:22.720 As a biologist, I'm very interested in how we mitigate 162 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:26.120 human wildlife conflict and how we can learn to live 163 00:09:26.159 --> 00:09:29.759 with other species without exterminating the other species, which seems 164 00:09:29.840 --> 00:09:32.679 to be our go to as a human. I'm part 165 00:09:32.720 --> 00:09:35.759 biologist and part psychologists. So some of my projects are 166 00:09:35.799 --> 00:09:38.720 about how animals think, and some of my projects are 167 00:09:38.759 --> 00:09:41.279 about how do we all get along? 168 00:09:42.559 --> 00:09:45.240 And I suppose when it comes to the animal and 169 00:09:45.360 --> 00:09:48.919 human interaction, there's no place like a big city crawling 170 00:09:48.919 --> 00:09:51.080 with raccoons to really study that. 171 00:09:51.159 --> 00:09:54.519 I imagine, right, it's absolutely amazing. Yeah, you know, like 172 00:09:54.559 --> 00:09:56.480 I get on a plane and fly thirty hours to 173 00:09:56.559 --> 00:09:58.480 my field site in Kenya, or I can just go 174 00:09:58.559 --> 00:10:02.759 in the backyard. So it was quite a revelation to me, like, oh, 175 00:10:02.960 --> 00:10:06.799 well this is good. So yeah, I have raccoons in 176 00:10:06.799 --> 00:10:08.720 the backyard and I can test out all my stuff 177 00:10:08.759 --> 00:10:12.519 with them on my deck and they're very willing participants. 178 00:10:12.559 --> 00:10:13.759 I can tell you that two of them are going 179 00:10:13.840 --> 00:10:16.159 to show up in about twenty minutes and knocking at 180 00:10:16.159 --> 00:10:19.600 the door because that's what they do every night. So yeah, 181 00:10:19.639 --> 00:10:23.240 it's pretty great. There are so many raccoons in the 182 00:10:23.279 --> 00:10:28.120 Greater Toronto area and never any problem getting participants for 183 00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:28.840 my studies. 184 00:10:28.879 --> 00:10:31.279 That's right, I've Can you tell me a little bit 185 00:10:31.320 --> 00:10:33.799 about the studies that you're doing now? When you say 186 00:10:33.799 --> 00:10:37.759 that you've got some equipment set up or some studies 187 00:10:37.759 --> 00:10:40.080 set up in your backyard, can you walk me through 188 00:10:40.080 --> 00:10:40.799 what that looks like. 189 00:10:41.440 --> 00:10:43.879 Sure, it depends again on the project. So I have 190 00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:47.519 done some things looking at how raccoon's problem solved. So 191 00:10:47.559 --> 00:10:50.679 can they open up garbage cans? For example? Like how 192 00:10:50.679 --> 00:10:52.720 do they do it? If they're urban animals? Are they 193 00:10:52.720 --> 00:10:56.000 different than ones that live in the country, Yes they are. 194 00:10:56.720 --> 00:11:00.639 So my big plan is looking at our the urban 195 00:11:01.320 --> 00:11:05.720 raccoons differentiating from the rural raccoons. So are they becoming 196 00:11:05.759 --> 00:11:10.759 a new subspecies or species based on their interactions with us. 197 00:11:10.840 --> 00:11:13.960 This is a question that really interests me about how 198 00:11:14.039 --> 00:11:17.879 humans actually cause evolution, that we are the ones that 199 00:11:17.919 --> 00:11:21.360 are driving the changes on the planet, and so looking 200 00:11:21.399 --> 00:11:24.840 at how raccoon behavior it changes and how their little 201 00:11:24.840 --> 00:11:27.440 brains change is really interesting to me. So I can 202 00:11:27.600 --> 00:11:30.519 ask them to solve problems and see how they do that. 203 00:11:30.559 --> 00:11:34.759 I've also done some really practical stuff, testing garbage bins 204 00:11:34.840 --> 00:11:37.360 you call them trash bins, I think in the US 205 00:11:37.399 --> 00:11:41.480 for the city of Toronto, so testing out new organic 206 00:11:41.600 --> 00:11:44.759 waste bins which we call green bins they are actually green, 207 00:11:45.279 --> 00:11:48.799 and seeing whether they're raccoon resistant. Right now, I'm looking 208 00:11:48.879 --> 00:11:51.519 at a possums in my backyard and raccoons, And this 209 00:11:51.600 --> 00:11:53.360 is all just trying to get an idea of what's 210 00:11:53.399 --> 00:11:57.440 going on because nobody really studies these urban wildlife species. 211 00:11:57.480 --> 00:11:59.360 They're very difficult to study. I mean, you can't bring 212 00:11:59.399 --> 00:12:01.679 them into a lab, which is psychologists love to bring 213 00:12:01.720 --> 00:12:02.799 animals into a lab. 214 00:12:03.120 --> 00:12:05.120 So We're going to cover more on what happens when 215 00:12:05.159 --> 00:12:09.159 proscinologists try to bring raccoons into a lab next week 216 00:12:09.200 --> 00:12:09.759 in part two. 217 00:12:09.799 --> 00:12:10.919 But whoa, it's good. 218 00:12:11.080 --> 00:12:14.639 It's just it's premium mischief. So rub your tiny hands 219 00:12:14.679 --> 00:12:18.080 together for next Tuesday. But if you're still thinking about 220 00:12:18.360 --> 00:12:22.879 city raccoons versus their rural cousins, what are the differences? 221 00:12:23.159 --> 00:12:26.840 Does one tend to wear camouflage windbreakers? Is another snobbier 222 00:12:27.440 --> 00:12:30.840 about which pour over coffee they lap up off a bench. Well, 223 00:12:30.879 --> 00:12:35.960 it turns out city raccoons have gotten craftier than their 224 00:12:36.039 --> 00:12:40.919 country counterparts, because the raccoons that can figure out how 225 00:12:41.000 --> 00:12:45.000 to wrestle a locked green bin are rewarded with all 226 00:12:45.080 --> 00:12:49.840 kinds of compostable treasure from like eggplant peels and shrimpshells 227 00:12:49.960 --> 00:12:54.240 and delicious bones apple cores. They're like, I came to 228 00:12:54.240 --> 00:12:56.360 the big city to make it, and by make it, 229 00:12:56.639 --> 00:12:59.919 I mean poop and your hammock. And Suzanne's research revealed 230 00:13:00.279 --> 00:13:04.159 that rural raccoons there's kind of shrug compost bins, but 231 00:13:04.200 --> 00:13:08.679 city raccoons get to work immediately, no matter how expertly 232 00:13:08.799 --> 00:13:12.480 engineered they are. And apparently eighty percent of metro raccoons 233 00:13:12.480 --> 00:13:16.039 could crack a trash can like a pro while none 234 00:13:16.080 --> 00:13:18.759 of the rural once could. They were like so the 235 00:13:18.799 --> 00:13:24.159 results the rise and proliferation of smart city sun subitious 236 00:13:24.679 --> 00:13:28.639 trash pandas. Think again, you're giving pandas too much credit. 237 00:13:28.960 --> 00:13:32.399 But how many urban raccoons are even out there? So 238 00:13:32.399 --> 00:13:36.159 Suzanne has counted up to fifty in one backyard, which 239 00:13:36.200 --> 00:13:40.480 is not a gaze. That's like a legit rager. If 240 00:13:40.519 --> 00:13:42.919 you don't want them there, well you might have to 241 00:13:43.000 --> 00:13:46.879 just shut down their trendiest restaurants, such as your freshwater 242 00:13:46.919 --> 00:13:47.799 fountains or. 243 00:13:47.799 --> 00:13:48.639 Your bird feeders. 244 00:13:48.879 --> 00:13:51.039 And I read that advice and I was like, they 245 00:13:51.159 --> 00:13:54.399 just eat bird seed. Gross, And then I realized that 246 00:13:54.440 --> 00:13:57.159 I was literally in the middle of a bullet granola. Anyway, 247 00:13:57.320 --> 00:14:00.759 wildlife is studied in the wild, which might literally mean 248 00:14:00.919 --> 00:14:04.919 a backyard, and in Suzanne's case, involves many many nights 249 00:14:04.960 --> 00:14:09.159 of spying on these little living hobgoblins or not. 250 00:14:09.519 --> 00:14:13.000 And I've also measured that sounds a bit more than 251 00:14:13.080 --> 00:14:18.120 dead raccoons to see if how their size changes. It's 252 00:14:18.120 --> 00:14:20.120 a good way to measure animals as if they're dead. 253 00:14:20.240 --> 00:14:22.240 So I didn't kill them. They were killed by traffic. 254 00:14:22.279 --> 00:14:24.279 Oh my god, it sounds like I'm a monster. You know, 255 00:14:24.600 --> 00:14:28.240 they were already killed, and they were sadly had already 256 00:14:28.279 --> 00:14:32.000 passed away. So then a couple of years measuring dead raccoons. 257 00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:34.039 That's fun to explain to your friends, that's right. 258 00:14:35.080 --> 00:14:38.399 How did you feel about the very well publicized raccoon 259 00:14:38.440 --> 00:14:40.279 funeral in Toronto a few years back? 260 00:14:40.600 --> 00:14:42.639 Oh? Yeah, what was the name of the raccoon? 261 00:14:43.080 --> 00:14:43.960 I gotta look it up. 262 00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:46.799 It was a seed like Curtis or it was hilarious 263 00:14:46.840 --> 00:14:49.559 whatever it was. Several years ago. I was actually in Africa. 264 00:14:49.639 --> 00:14:53.039 I was in South Africa at the time, working with elephants, 265 00:14:53.519 --> 00:14:57.240 and somebody emailed me the times are all odd, right 266 00:14:57.279 --> 00:15:00.320 because the time zone changes, and I got to see 267 00:15:00.360 --> 00:15:03.960 with this picture of a memorial for a raccoon, and 268 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:06.000 I was like, what the hell is happening when I'm gone, Like, 269 00:15:06.080 --> 00:15:09.440 what is going on? Has the city lost its mine? 270 00:15:09.799 --> 00:15:12.279 I think it was I can't remember what the name was, 271 00:15:12.320 --> 00:15:14.440 but anyway, yeah, I wasn't in the country, and so 272 00:15:14.559 --> 00:15:17.120 I thought, when you're removed from the country and you're 273 00:15:17.159 --> 00:15:20.720 removed from Toronto, it just seems pretty crazy. So I 274 00:15:20.799 --> 00:15:22.879 just laughed and thought it was pretty crazy, but they 275 00:15:22.879 --> 00:15:25.519 were trying to draw attention to the fact that the 276 00:15:26.039 --> 00:15:29.039 poor little raccoon was not removed by the city, that 277 00:15:29.200 --> 00:15:32.320 was allowed to just sort of be there in the gutter. 278 00:15:32.679 --> 00:15:33.240 It was sad. 279 00:15:34.159 --> 00:15:37.919 Side note, his name was Conrad. Even the city's official 280 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:42.919 social channels joined the bereavement, tweeting that Toronto residents are 281 00:15:42.960 --> 00:15:46.360 being asked to keep their green bins open tonight in 282 00:15:46.399 --> 00:15:50.960 honor of Conrad. Hashtag dead raccoon too. Yeah, I hope 283 00:15:51.200 --> 00:15:53.480 my funeral is as well attended. 284 00:15:55.120 --> 00:15:58.360 Is that dead raccoon? Because what a what a life? 285 00:15:59.159 --> 00:16:01.360 Yeah, but it also tells you more about the people 286 00:16:01.399 --> 00:16:03.879 in Toronto than write anything else. 287 00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:08.039 Oh my gosh, Canadians the most polite. 288 00:16:07.759 --> 00:16:08.440 Type of human. 289 00:16:09.039 --> 00:16:13.120 Yes, yes, it's just it made me laugh. And of 290 00:16:13.120 --> 00:16:14.799 course I had a bunch of students with me from 291 00:16:14.799 --> 00:16:16.840 the UK and they're all like, what is what is 292 00:16:16.879 --> 00:16:20.759 wrong with your country? Like what is going on there? 293 00:16:21.240 --> 00:16:24.279 It was pretty funny. Yeah, I'm sorry for the raccoon, 294 00:16:24.639 --> 00:16:27.519 and we have many, many, many thousands of raccoons, so 295 00:16:27.639 --> 00:16:29.120 they're not endangered. It's okay. 296 00:16:30.600 --> 00:16:34.080 How long is a typical urban raccoons lifespan? 297 00:16:34.240 --> 00:16:38.200 Oh not very long, So raccoons in captivity. There are 298 00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:41.039 some raccoons in captivity. We have raccoons at the Toronto 299 00:16:41.159 --> 00:16:44.639 Zoo who live a nice long life, probably sixteen to 300 00:16:44.720 --> 00:16:49.000 twenty years. But wild raccoons are lucky if they make it. 301 00:16:48.919 --> 00:16:53.080 Three years, three years versus twenty. What is happening on 302 00:16:53.120 --> 00:16:54.200 those mean streets. 303 00:16:54.720 --> 00:16:58.480 Oh, yeah, there's disease and there's traffic. Those are there 304 00:16:58.480 --> 00:17:03.440 two There are two Nemesis Nemeses nemesis, so you know, 305 00:17:03.519 --> 00:17:06.279 they are a protected wildlife species, so they have no 306 00:17:06.440 --> 00:17:10.240 and they have no predators in the city other than traffic. 307 00:17:10.319 --> 00:17:13.319 It's they're a big predator and disease because they are 308 00:17:13.400 --> 00:17:17.440 so the densities are so high. If disease gets into 309 00:17:17.440 --> 00:17:21.200 the population, it spreads through pretty quickly, so it happens 310 00:17:21.240 --> 00:17:25.359 every few years we get a big outbreak of canine distemper, 311 00:17:25.400 --> 00:17:28.440 which comes from dogs, and we lose a lot of 312 00:17:28.519 --> 00:17:31.880 raccoons that way. It's pretty sad. Actually, raccoons are of 313 00:17:31.960 --> 00:17:36.359 interest to the government because they are a vector for rabies, 314 00:17:36.599 --> 00:17:40.720 so they are monitored quite closely. We have no rabies 315 00:17:40.720 --> 00:17:43.839 in the Greater Toronto area population, but there have been 316 00:17:43.880 --> 00:17:48.319 a few nearby and those are followed very closely. So 317 00:17:48.880 --> 00:17:52.440 any species that is a rabies vector is also monitored, 318 00:17:52.519 --> 00:17:54.680 so you don't want to get too close to any 319 00:17:55.039 --> 00:17:56.599 any of those species, that's for sure. 320 00:17:57.200 --> 00:18:01.160 Yeah, are there any tips that bile just want the 321 00:18:01.200 --> 00:18:03.680 general public to know in terms of seeing a raccoon 322 00:18:03.759 --> 00:18:08.079 then the daytime, or seeing a raccoon who's behaving differently. 323 00:18:08.640 --> 00:18:12.400 Yes, everybody says. I get these emails from just random 324 00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:15.720 humans saying I saw a raccoon in the afternoon. It 325 00:18:15.880 --> 00:18:19.440 was rabbit, right, I'm like, no, it was just out 326 00:18:19.480 --> 00:18:22.559 in the afternoon. They're not vampires like they can come 327 00:18:22.559 --> 00:18:26.599 out in the sunlight. They don't explode, really, they're just out. 328 00:18:27.359 --> 00:18:31.079 They are just hanging. Usually it's females who are super 329 00:18:31.160 --> 00:18:35.000 hungry and because they're nursing kids, or it's young ones 330 00:18:35.200 --> 00:18:36.480 like the ones that are going to show up in 331 00:18:36.480 --> 00:18:40.400 a couple of minutes, young ones who are if they 332 00:18:40.440 --> 00:18:42.440 come out a little earlier, they get first crack at 333 00:18:42.440 --> 00:18:44.400 whatever food's there, so they learned to come out a 334 00:18:44.440 --> 00:18:46.880 little earlier. They are not rabbit just because they're out 335 00:18:47.359 --> 00:18:51.400 in the daytime. Really, that's just silly. 336 00:18:51.720 --> 00:18:53.359 Flim flam busted. 337 00:18:53.640 --> 00:18:56.519 But what if they are sick so Suzanne described some 338 00:18:56.519 --> 00:18:58.480 symptoms you can look out for, or rather I guess 339 00:18:58.559 --> 00:18:59.000 listen for. 340 00:18:59.319 --> 00:19:03.119 You know, if they are behaving strangely, vocalizing, they make 341 00:19:03.200 --> 00:19:11.000 these god awful noises when they're sick, and they seriously that. 342 00:19:11.119 --> 00:19:15.000 When they have canine distemper, they howl and scream because 343 00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:17.279 they're in extreme pain and there's nothing that can be 344 00:19:17.319 --> 00:19:19.839 done for them. So you have to call Toronto Animal 345 00:19:19.880 --> 00:19:22.720 Services or animal services and they will come and uthanize them. 346 00:19:22.759 --> 00:19:25.960 So there's no cure for that, unfortunately. So if you 347 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:29.960 see a raccoon acting strangely, then you know, stay away 348 00:19:30.559 --> 00:19:33.759 from it, don't go towards it. Please do not take 349 00:19:33.799 --> 00:19:36.279 a selfie. Please do not do any of that. You 350 00:19:36.319 --> 00:19:38.279 can take a video from a distance and send it 351 00:19:38.279 --> 00:19:41.920 to your animal services. In the US, there is rabies 352 00:19:41.920 --> 00:19:44.240 in the raccoon population in parts of the US, not 353 00:19:44.880 --> 00:19:47.200 all of the US, not in California, but you know, 354 00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:54.160 back away. I think social distance is ideal with all raccoons. 355 00:19:54.240 --> 00:19:58.319 Just give them, give them some space, do not corner them. 356 00:19:58.400 --> 00:20:01.519 If you corner a mother with kids, then she will 357 00:20:01.559 --> 00:20:04.359 be mad just like you would be. And just give 358 00:20:04.400 --> 00:20:06.680 them some space and enjoy them and let them go 359 00:20:06.759 --> 00:20:09.200 on their way, and that's the best advice I have 360 00:20:09.440 --> 00:20:11.480 just but if they are acting strangely and they do 361 00:20:11.559 --> 00:20:13.839 look to be in pain, then call animal services. 362 00:20:14.599 --> 00:20:18.880 And obviously those vocalizations when they're in pain are heartbreaking 363 00:20:18.920 --> 00:20:22.000 and probably tough to hear. But do they have vocalizations 364 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:24.960 when they're not in pain, when they're happy or communicating? 365 00:20:25.440 --> 00:20:31.119 Dozens? Yes, So they talk. They're very chatty raccoons. Oh well, 366 00:20:31.200 --> 00:20:34.000 they have many noises, so the babies have noises to 367 00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:37.920 get their mothers to pay attention. They per People call 368 00:20:37.960 --> 00:20:40.400 them different. They don't purr like cats, but it's a 369 00:20:40.400 --> 00:20:43.240 similar kind of sound. They trail, lature, they do all 370 00:20:43.240 --> 00:20:47.680 sorts of things when they're mating. They I always get 371 00:20:47.720 --> 00:20:51.799 emails about this too. In January February here it's cold, 372 00:20:52.559 --> 00:20:55.160 but we often have a day or two that has 373 00:20:55.200 --> 00:20:58.200 like it's called a January saw. So it's a little 374 00:20:58.240 --> 00:21:01.799 warmer than normal. And when I say above zero celsius, 375 00:21:01.839 --> 00:21:04.319 so I don't know whatever that is, thirty two, I 376 00:21:04.319 --> 00:21:07.319 don't know fahrenheit thirty two fahrenheit. So when it gets 377 00:21:07.359 --> 00:21:10.240 a little warmer in January, they will come out and 378 00:21:10.240 --> 00:21:13.519 they'll mate, And so people email me all the time 379 00:21:13.559 --> 00:21:17.920 in January, and they say the raccoons are dying. Oh, 380 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:20.319 they're actually mating. Yeah, they're on your fence and they're 381 00:21:20.359 --> 00:21:23.000 mating and they make all sorts of terrible noises, screaming 382 00:21:23.039 --> 00:21:25.640 and yelling, and that's what they're doing. And then they 383 00:21:25.680 --> 00:21:28.759 go back to being. They don't hibernate, but they're less 384 00:21:28.759 --> 00:21:31.079 active in the winter, and then they go back to that, 385 00:21:32.880 --> 00:21:35.440 and then you know, about sixty three days later, the 386 00:21:35.519 --> 00:21:42.720 females will have their little babies. But yeah, every year 387 00:21:43.119 --> 00:21:46.000 in January, Oh my god, the raccoons are dying. No, No, 388 00:21:46.279 --> 00:21:49.279 that's just raccoon love. That's just how they sound. 389 00:21:51.599 --> 00:21:53.839 Is that part of what you have to study too? 390 00:21:53.960 --> 00:21:57.559 As a behaviorist? Do you study what those different noises mean? 391 00:21:58.519 --> 00:22:00.839 I don't. Not very many people have studied it. I 392 00:22:00.839 --> 00:22:02.720 mean maybe one of my students can study it. But 393 00:22:02.759 --> 00:22:07.079 it is very, very difficult to study raccoons because you 394 00:22:07.119 --> 00:22:09.640 can't really follow them. We did a study where we 395 00:22:09.720 --> 00:22:14.960 put GPS tracking callers on raccoons, and even that as well. 396 00:22:15.960 --> 00:22:17.759 Once you get them on, it's very difficult to get 397 00:22:17.759 --> 00:22:21.720 them off because they become trapshy. They're smart little buggers. 398 00:22:21.240 --> 00:22:23.920 Crafty, bugger ology would be more more fitting. 399 00:22:24.279 --> 00:22:27.000 And it's very difficult to follow them, even with callers 400 00:22:27.039 --> 00:22:30.240 on because a caller will tell you that they're in 401 00:22:30.240 --> 00:22:32.880