Touchy, Feely, Amazing Raccoon Hands

You’ve probably seen raccoons dunk their food in water and then roll it between their hands. Despite how it looks, they’re not washing it. In the wild, raccoons will forage in nooks and crannies of streams and rivers for aquatic prey like fish and crawfish. When in captivity, or even when stealing your dog’s food in your backyard, they follow the same pattern. Their hands contain many touch receptors that help them to “see” their food underwater, and by rolling the food between their hands, they’re actually gathering information about it. Besides their food, raccoons also use their hands (the palms of which are hairless) to investigate many other things in their world. Aren’t they amazing?