I’ve always had a certain affinity for nature and the animals in it. It’s something I always believed is inherently innocent and pure. Nature is something that is constantly giving and giving and giving without receiving a ‘please’ or even a ‘thank you.’ I love the large pink cherry blossom trees that finally show their flowers mid spring, or the warm sunshine of late summer. I love the little kittens that run throughout city streets, or bunnies that hop around in the long early winter grass. So when I heard this story about raccoons and their toys made out of trash, I knew that it had to be covered. I just knew that I had to talk about one of the cutest things I’ve ever heard! And I, for one, have always felt like raccoons were such underrated animals. I think they get too bad of a reputation for being these little monsters who sneak into your trash can at night. But regardless of how many other people think of them, I’ve always thought that they were incredibly intelligent, super cool, and absolutely adorable animals. So now to learn that raccoons on the island of Cozumel are making toys out of literal trash not only intrigued me, it also worried me.
How were these raccoons in such close proximity to human litter that they even learned how to make toys out of scraps?
Well, what one raccoon had learned how to do, was to take trash found either on the floor or in a bin, dunk it in water, and then roll it up into a ball that can then be used for play. After that, she’s even taught her friends how to do the same! Scientists, such as biologist Michelle Szydlowski, believe this demonstrates not only a sense of creativity, but also social play. This is fascinating because it’s something that has never been observed in raccoons—or even the entirety of the Procyonidae family— before. Of course, it’s known that they’re highly playful mischievous creatures, but this is something entirely new. This phenomenon is called material culture, and it’s basically when animals observe each other use tools, in this case the paper ball, and learn to make the same items.
Sadly, however, the raccoon who introduced this paper ball idea died shortly after, most likely due to “malnutrition and exposure to pollutants.” Although her trash toy invention is super cute and interesting, it’s important to recognize that Cozumel is one of the biggest tourist destinations in Mexico and is home to many animals. But as tourism rises, so does the demand to build roads and resorts, which leads to the destruction of wildlife, tourist littering, and toxic pollution. The Pygmy raccoons live in coastal regions and in mangrove ecosystems, two places largely disadvantaged by high tourism rates due to the amount of plastic waste, depletion of natural resources, and land degradation. The raccoons are actually considered a critically endangered species with only 200 of them surviving in the wild and those who are surviving are malnourished “due to a diet that is very, very high in tortilla chips,” according to scientist Nessie O’Neil. Actually, these raccoons aren’t the only animals on the island that are endangered. In fact, both the Cozumel Thrasher and the Cozumel mouse are critically endangered for similar reasons as the raccoon.
So what can we as a community do to help these little toy-making raccoons? What can we do to help the Cozumel trashers or mice? Especially when the main problem is tourism and pollution, which we know won’t be stopped soon and definitely not without a fight?
One big thing anyone can do is simply raise awareness. Talking about pollution and the threats it brings to local environments is incredibly basic, but is also a lot more helpful than many people even realize. Parley Mexico has multiple environmentalist groups but most specifically “AIR Tourism Marine Debris Mitigation Initiative” made to raise awareness about plastic pollution and reduce plastic consumption in tourists and businesses in Cozumel. I think it is also very important to be mindful when you are a tourist in general about the space you’re in and how your actions may affect the environment, animals, and people around you.
Animals own a large part of my heart and mean more than the world to me. I can’t express to you how much seeing the deforestation and mistreatment of animals and their habitats hurts to see. Pygmy raccoons are such adorable and intelligent creatures who are being killed off because of human’s lack of care.
