Young pygmy raccoons on a Mexican island have been seen teaching each other to make toy balls out of rubbish, in a rare example of animals crafting objects purely for playing with.
鈥淢y first reaction was, oh my gosh, that鈥檚 absolutely adorable!鈥� says at Miami University in Ohio, who is researching the impact of tourism on the critically endangered pygmy raccoons (Procyon pygmaeus) of Cozumel Island.
O鈥橬eil filmed as one of the younger raccoons fished paper out of a rubbish bin, dipped it in a bowl of water and rolled it in sand, making a ball.
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Over days of observation, she recorded the creatures as they made more balls and used them to play 鈥渇ootball鈥� with other raccoons and dwarf coatis (Nasua narica nelsoni), another raccoon-like animal. Siblings taught each other the ball-making procedure, and even tried to get their mother involved, though she couldn鈥檛 quite figure it out 鈥� her coordination seemed to have been impaired after drinking a margarita she found at a beach bar earlier that day.
O鈥橬eil鈥檚 colleague at Miami University, was impressed by the footage. While others have watched animals like chimps or tigers at play, researchers have seldom seen animals custom-making toys for later use. 鈥淚t shouldn鈥檛 be surprising that raccoons are where we鈥檙e seeing this, just because they鈥檙e so tactile, they see with their hands,鈥� says Szydlowski.
鈥淭he observations show how complex animal play behaviour can be,鈥� says at the Institute of Animal Science in the Czech Republic. 鈥淚t will be intriguing to see whether the behaviour will get a hold in the population as a new cultural trait or will disappear.鈥�
The observations may also help with conservation efforts. There are fewer than 200 pygmy raccoons on Cozumel, the only place the species is found. Understanding how they learn from each other might help conservationists discourage unhealthy behaviours like stealing margaritas and begging for snacks, and reacquaint them with foraging in the wild. And O鈥橬eil hopes increased awareness of the animals will bring more support. 鈥淚 really just want people to know that they are out there, and they need people to care,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd please don鈥檛 feed them!鈥�
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