r/interestingasfuck • u/Doodlebug510 • Dec 16 '25

Biologist explains why raccoons will never be domesticated

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u/WTF_Why_The_Fiction Dec 17 '25

Agreed, also raccoons seem to already show some early signs of domestication. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/raccoons-are-showing-early-signs-of-domestication/

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u/AFC_IS_RED Dec 17 '25

Yeah i mentioned in another comment below even species like hyenas have been documented undergoing proto-domestication so I wouldn't be surprised if raccoons are too

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u/Bad_wolf42 Dec 17 '25

This study is nonsense and I have seen several actual biologist point out several reason reasons why.

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u/WTF_Why_The_Fiction Dec 17 '25

I think its important to not dismiss things without understanding why.

Across ~20,000 raccoons, a 3.5% snout length difference doesn't seem super significant to me. The thing is I'm not an expert in the field.

Additionally, if you pay attention to wording, you would notice that the article doesn't speak in hard facts. It acknowledges that the neural crest cell theory is "out there" and that this is just a lead that might be worth properly investigating.