Critically Endangered Pygmy Raccoons on Cozumel Make Toys From Paper Trash

Biologist Nessie O’Neil, a graduate student at Miami University’s Project Dragonfly in Oxford, Ohio, described observing two critically endangered pygmy raccoon sisters in Cozumel, Mexico, who retrieved discarded paper from the trash, soaked it in their water bowl, and rolled it into toy balls. One sister was already proficient at making the balls, while the other appeared to learn the technique by watching her.

O’Neil and her coauthors documented this behavior in a scientific paper.

An endangered raccoon found a new use for trash: turning paper waste into toys and teaching her family how to make them too. …Researcher Nessie O’Neil says the behavior may be the first documented example of “material culture” in raccoons and their relatives, in which a behavior involving objects is learned and passed between individuals.

Sadly, the first raccoon later died in rehabilitative care, but her sister had learned the technique and was later observed making a paper ball independently.

Juvenile pygmy raccoon2 learning to make toys from her sister, only perfecting them once her sister is gone, keeping the knowledge (and her sister) alive.

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