How Do Raccoons Eat Their Prey?

Plant Food

• Over half their diet consists of fruits, nuts, berries, acorns and grains. Much is harvested from wild plants, but farm crops such as corn are relished. Raccoons pick some of the food with their agile forepaws as well as eating it right off the plants.

Animal Food

• Raccoons eat many different kinds of animal matter, basically whatever they can find. They will eat birds' eggs, birds, small rodents and other small mammals, insects and other arthropods, amphibians, reptiles and carrion. In fresh water they catch crayfish, fish, amphibians and aquatic insects. If raccoons live near salt water, they also harvest crabs, oysters, and other seafood.

Using Forepaws

• Front feet have sensitive skin on the bottoms. Raccoons use them extensively when finding food in water. They feel around with scratching motions until they find some prey, and then may feel it over extensively before eating it. Even when they are far from water, they can perform these handling maneuvers before eating the food.

Food Handling

• Raccoons also dunk any sort of food in any available water, perhaps to feel it better. This led to the mistaken idea that they have to wash their food. They frequently do not use this motion at all before eating prey.