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Stumbling upon a raccoon in your trash can is annoying, to say the least. But once you look into those beady little eyes surrounded by dark fur, you realize that raccoons are just smaller, more street-wise pandas, and they start to grow on you. Today we're celebrating nature's notorious bandits, and you'll probably love it even if you found garbage all over your driveway this morning.
'Trash panda' is not a nickname bestowed lightly on these critters. Raccoons belong to the biological suborder Caniformia, which also includes dogs, bears, and you guessed it - red pandas. Alright, so they might not be genetically related to the Beijing equivalent, but they're just as fluffy and adorable.
Raccoons may seem like instinct-driven bandits in the wild, but they're more clever than they get credit for. After being studied numerous times by ethologists throughout the 1900's, raccoons were determined to have razor sharp memory, and demonstrated the ability to remember solutions to tasks for up to 3 years - which is basically their average lifespan. The next time you feel like calling them pests, keep in mind that they'll probably remember your face, your house, where you keep your trash...
Check out the cutest raccoons we could find below, and vote for the ones that scurried away with your heart.
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#5
Darla Cole-Bowen 8 years ago
My fav. We raised raccoons for years. They are cute young, but once they become breeding age they can become very aggressive and cantankerous and a 45 lb. male raccoon can easily kill a dog. The pose above with the raccoon on the dogs head is something a raccoon comes by naturally as a mode of self defense. They climb on a dogs head if its in water and drown the dog. If you feel the need to keep one as a pet, you are (and they are) better off if they are spade or neutered. Your local vet can do this procedure for you.
Mark Dickinson 8 years ago
whose idea was it to lay me on the weather section? I wanted sports
Allana Rose 8 years ago
What an adorable face. I can see why a lot of people end up adopting the fuzzy little creatures!
Sherri Fournier 8 years ago
I had a college roommate bring her 'rescue' raccoon into class one day. It bit me on the a*s as we were taking of final exam. I was so mad!
Jilltdcatlady 8 years ago
Me: I'm here to see Mr. Big Boss. Desk Panda: Hmmmm, do you have an appointment?
#12
#15
ispeak catanese 8 years ago
Does anyone else want to blow bubbles for a pair of crazy racoons with me?
#18
therealpixie 8 years ago
Yes, I know a broken bone is not adorable, but sometimes the remedy is!!
#22
Weim Central 8 years ago
So nice of you to have me over to your lovely home - the sea cottage motif really works in here! nom nom nom...
#28
Desiré Yen 8 years ago
Down in the jungle where nobody knows there's a little raccoon looking for u...
#29
#33
Rose Ann Sabaka 8 years ago
"Could you cut this up in small pieces? I don't want to make a mess."
#37
Rose Ann Sabaka 8 years ago
"Come on, give me a push." "Why, you can crawl through down here."
#40
Ginger Liddel 8 years ago
This is almost exactly how we ended up raising a baby raccoon for two weeks expect it was raining freezing cold and he was crying loudly till I ran outside and threw a towel around him and brought him in for a feeding while we called wildlife services trying to find out wtf we were supposed to do ,they told us he was too young and would have to be put down we weren't having any of that it took us two weeks and constant feedings but we finally had located the mother and she took him back , he would come back often to visit the house and have snacks .
#52
#54
#59
Rose Ann Sabaka 8 years ago
"You go to the left and I'll go to the right, then we'll sneak up on him."
#66
Rose Ann Sabaka 8 years ago
"Oh no....oh no.....you're not going to take my temperature, are you?"
#83
#85
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What do you think ?
jacluckycat 8 years ago
Rarely do i take the time to upvote every picture but this article is pure boredpanda gold
Virgil Blue 8 years ago
Rocket is the most adorable violent psychopath ever.
Load More Replies...
Pi... 8 years ago
So adorable! My heart is goin squeee n my brain is goin awwww... so I'm basically going squawww
💖 Stacy Rae 💖 8 years ago
You described what I'm feeling perfectly. Thank you, I couldn't put it into words.
Load More Replies...
Mari Bradford 8 years ago
My dad was a Foerster when I was young and he found one abandoned and brought him home. 30 years ago and thinking of it I can still smell the formula I fed him. We had all wood floors so nights weren't much fun😂. I still miss Toby
Belinda Marie McLaughlin Knoblock 8 years ago
We had one when we were kids. I thought he was cute and funny, but he wasn't cuddly. He was a bundle of teeth and claws most of the time. My brother and one of our beagles liked to play with him. I liked to watch him. We would go to the creek and catch crawdads and minnows for him. He would "fish" for them with his soft little hands.
Sally Vogel 8 years ago
These are darling...but almost all of them are young. I'll bet there are a lot of sad endings to the relationships as adult raccoons rarely make good pets. People should not be encouraged to try it. I caught a baby once, thinking to raise it as a pet, but fortunately good sense kicked in and I released it to its mother the next night.
StarryEyedDreamer 8 years ago
Life span: In the wild, a raccoon has a life expectancy of about 2 to 3 years, but in captivity a raccoon can live up to20 years
Load More Replies...
Paul Haslem 8 years ago
8 week old baby, hanging out. hoping to be released in another 8 weeks. 005-595cf7...0886b4.jpg 
Aunt Messy 8 years ago
Raccoons are wild animals, NOT PETS. In fact, they make very obnoxious, lousy pets are are really not happy outside their own habitat. DO NOT approach a raccoon in the wild. Ever. They can hurt you badly and can carry rabies, distemper, and various ticks and other viruses that can easily pass to your pets at home.
Allana Rose 8 years ago
I once lived in a house, way out in the country and every night, a trio of raccoons came unto my back porch and peeked through my sliding glass door at me. They were so cute that I started leaving out dry cat food out for them which they would sit and gobble up right then and there. One night I must have left the door unlatched because they managed to get into and raid the food on the counter tops. They had ripped open boxes of cereal, tore open a loaf of bread and ate all the butter! I woke up to one hell of a mess in the am! I couldnt really get mad. I just cleaned up the mess and chuckled over their antics. Those creatures were too smart for the own good! *L*
Lira Mai 8 years ago
if i have. big house and a yard and if the law permits it i will get a fox and a raccoon as a pet. they are adorable and cute.
Riki Vreekamp 8 years ago
Love them all but my buddy Charlie doesn't agree with no. 23 13076674_1...640e39.jpg 
Vince Tolomei 8 years ago
They get into and trash our fish pond with their rummaging, but then I see pics like this and I can't stay mad at them.
Lucina Sandoval-Gordon 8 years ago
All this time I've been scared of racoons and they are actually real life Disney characters.
StarryEyedDreamer 8 years ago
Raccoons are my favorite animal! I couldn't help myself I had to like every pic.
jacluckycat 8 years ago
Rarely do i take the time to upvote every picture but this article is pure boredpanda gold
Virgil Blue 8 years ago
Rocket is the most adorable violent psychopath ever.
Load More Replies... Pi... 8 years ago
So adorable! My heart is goin squeee n my brain is goin awwww... so I'm basically going squawww
💖 Stacy Rae 💖 8 years ago
You described what I'm feeling perfectly. Thank you, I couldn't put it into words.
Load More Replies... Mari Bradford 8 years ago
My dad was a Foerster when I was young and he found one abandoned and brought him home. 30 years ago and thinking of it I can still smell the formula I fed him. We had all wood floors so nights weren't much fun😂. I still miss Toby
Belinda Marie McLaughlin Knoblock 8 years ago
We had one when we were kids. I thought he was cute and funny, but he wasn't cuddly. He was a bundle of teeth and claws most of the time. My brother and one of our beagles liked to play with him. I liked to watch him. We would go to the creek and catch crawdads and minnows for him. He would "fish" for them with his soft little hands.
Sally Vogel 8 years ago
These are darling...but almost all of them are young. I'll bet there are a lot of sad endings to the relationships as adult raccoons rarely make good pets. People should not be encouraged to try it. I caught a baby once, thinking to raise it as a pet, but fortunately good sense kicked in and I released it to its mother the next night.
StarryEyedDreamer 8 years ago
Life span: In the wild, a raccoon has a life expectancy of about 2 to 3 years, but in captivity a raccoon can live up to20 years
Load More Replies... Paul Haslem 8 years ago
8 week old baby, hanging out. hoping to be released in another 8 weeks. 005-595cf7...0886b4.jpg
Aunt Messy 8 years ago
Raccoons are wild animals, NOT PETS. In fact, they make very obnoxious, lousy pets are are really not happy outside their own habitat. DO NOT approach a raccoon in the wild. Ever. They can hurt you badly and can carry rabies, distemper, and various ticks and other viruses that can easily pass to your pets at home.
Allana Rose 8 years ago
I once lived in a house, way out in the country and every night, a trio of raccoons came unto my back porch and peeked through my sliding glass door at me. They were so cute that I started leaving out dry cat food out for them which they would sit and gobble up right then and there. One night I must have left the door unlatched because they managed to get into and raid the food on the counter tops. They had ripped open boxes of cereal, tore open a loaf of bread and ate all the butter! I woke up to one hell of a mess in the am! I couldnt really get mad. I just cleaned up the mess and chuckled over their antics. Those creatures were too smart for the own good! *L*
Lira Mai 8 years ago
if i have. big house and a yard and if the law permits it i will get a fox and a raccoon as a pet. they are adorable and cute.
Riki Vreekamp 8 years ago
Love them all but my buddy Charlie doesn't agree with no. 23 13076674_1...640e39.jpg
Vince Tolomei 8 years ago
They get into and trash our fish pond with their rummaging, but then I see pics like this and I can't stay mad at them.
Lucina Sandoval-Gordon 8 years ago
All this time I've been scared of racoons and they are actually real life Disney characters.
StarryEyedDreamer 8 years ago
Raccoons are my favorite animal! I couldn't help myself I had to like every pic.
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