In most cases, urbanization brings difficulties for wildlife, but raccoons benefit from human activities. As their wild habitat declined sharply, a large number of raccoons moved to the city.

The availability of shelter and readily available food sources in urban areas lead these raccoons to a happy life.

They crawl over the street lights to eat the beetles attracted by the lights, search the cars one by one for snacks, wait for food waste at the back door of restaurants, and sneak into homes by walking along nearby power lines. 

Raccoons have adapted to different urban environments such as residential buildings and farms. They even live a commuter lifestyle foraging in residential areas at night and sleeping in the woods on the outskirts during the day.

According to some research, urban life makes raccoons smarter.

Raccoons living in the city have analytical skills and memory, they can unlock doors and press buttons. Even a year later, a raccoon can still remember how to open these devices.

Researchers in Toronto put a GPS tracking collar on urban raccoons. They found that these raccoons avoided the intersection of heavy traffic and chose a safer route.

Despite the increase in population, the average life span of urban raccoons is only about two years. Raccoons encounter dangers such as electric shock, road killing, and infectious diseases while exploring the city. Urban life is full of food but full of risks.

In the United States, many residents are harassed by raccoons. Raccoons may carry the rabies virus and roundworms, and their migration poses a risk to humans.

About 'City of Wild'

Nature is not limited to faraway mountains and oceans, it also exists in urban cities and our daily lives. In the series, "City of Wild," CGTN not only unfolds a world of wildlife you were probably not aware of, but also highlights the theme of this year's CBD COP 15: Ecological Civilization: Building a Shared Future for All Life on Earth.

(All images via VCG)

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at nature@cgtn.com.)