A Raccoon’s Natural Diet

Pennsylvania raccoons are currently thriving in the suburban and urban settings and they forage for food whenever necessary. Food availability is one of the things that make it possible for the raccoons to do so well even in the urban settings. The raccoons are nocturnal by nature but at times, they can be seen up and about even when it is daylight. They do this so as to access the food sources that are available during the day. Raccoons thrive well because they are omnivorous and can eat just about anything. The diet of a Harrisburg raccoon consists of around 40% invertebrates, plant material at 33% and 27% of vertebrates. The fact that the diet includes so many types of foods, they may be considered to be the most omnivorous animals that the world has seen yet.



Breakdown of the Diet
In the early summer and spring, the Harrisburg raccoon mostly feeds on other animals. Worms and insects are available during that time of year. However, the raccoon has a preference for walnuts, acorns, and fruits which are available in the late summer and the autumn season. This is a diet which represents high calories that can be used in the building if the fat that is much needed once winter comes. There are people who believe that raccoons can eat large or active prey lie the mammals and birds but the fact is that this happens only occasionally. This is because the Pennsylvania raccoons prefer prey that can be easily caught such as bird eggs, amphibians, and fish. When there is plenty of food, the raccoons can get a very strong and individual preference for some very specific foods. Within the northern areas, raccoons usually go to winter rest where their activity is reduced to a great extent for the period where there is a permanent snow covers making it so hard to search for food.

Basically, the Pennsylvania raccoon can be considered to be an opportunistic eater with the diet being determined heavily by the surrounding environment. In urban settings, the raccoon sifts through the garbage in search of food and in most cases; invertebrates and plant foods form a large part of the diet.

Adaptation to Feed
Harrisburg accoons are the same as humans in the sense that they are omnivorous. Just like us, the raccoon’s teeth are designed in a way that they can tear meat and grind plants. They are excellent at solving problems and can manipulate things using the fingers and pays making them capable of adapting to the environment as things change. The raccoons are able to open latches or unlocked doors. Garbage cans bare also a very easy task for the Pennsylvania raccoons to handle. They have fingers and paws that they use in the inspection of the food that they find and they also use this to remove any of the pieces that they do not want before eating the food.

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