In Mexico, raccoons learned to play football by making a ball out of trash (video)

In Mexico, raccoons have learned to make balls from trash and play football (video)

Pygmy raccoons on the Mexican island of Cozumel have independently learned to make balls from paper and sand, and then began teaching this skill to other raccoons. This phenomenon was reportedly first noticed by Nessie Neal, a researcher from Miami University in Ohio.

Neal studies the impact of tourism on raccoons. One day, she videotaped a young raccoon taking paper from a trash can, dipping it into a water container, and then rolling it in the sand to form a ball shape. Over the next few days, Neal observed the raccoons continuing to make similar balls and organizing competitions with them that resembled football matches. Other raccoons also joined the games.

The researcher also noticed in the following days that the pygmy raccoons were learning how to make the toy from one another. They even tried to teach this to their mother, but the mother raccoon was unable to replicate their actions.

Michelle Shidlowski, another researcher from Miami University, noted that scientists often observe play in chimpanzees, tigers, and other animals. However, instances of animals purposefully making toys are much rarer. Now, researchers plan to determine whether the raccoons will pass this skill on to future generations.

For reference, pygmy raccoons live only on Cozumel Island and are on the verge of extinction. Fewer than 200 individuals of their species remain in the wild.