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We here at Bored Panda salute our adorable and wily cousins, the trash pandas, with this awesome list. But you probably know these animals by their proper names, dear Readers—raccoons. Check out the hilarious and cute pics of raccoons we’ve collected for your enjoyment and don’t forget to upvote your fave photos as you scroll on down. When you’re done, have a look at our earlier post about adorable raccoons right here.

Bored Panda reached out to Dr. Suzanne MacDonald from the Department of Psychology at York University, in Toronto, who has done research with raccoons and who was kind enough to tell us about these interesting animals.

She pointed out that the best way to enjoy the company of raccoons if they ever show up near your house is to practice social distancing. “Give them space, don’t feed them, and just enjoy their antics from a safe distance. If you feed them, they will come—and they will tell their friends. You will regret it, trust me!” she said. Read on for our full interview with Dr. MacDonald.

#3

Just In Case You Were Having A Bad Day Look How Happy This Raccoon Is With His Stuffed Raccoon

Just In Case You Were Having A Bad Day Look How Happy This Raccoon Is With His Stuffed Raccoon

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Dr. MacDonald told us more about her raccoon-research and how it showed that urban raccoons were much more likely than rural raccoons to approach and figure out problems involving hidden food. What’s more, urban raccoons came up with more strategies and spent more time figuring things out.

“I wouldn’t say that makes them ‘smarter,’ but it certainly does make urban raccoons more likely to be able to open trash cans and get into our attics than rural raccoons. I can’t say whether these differences are innate or whether urban raccoons learn how to do those things, so the next step is to compare baby urban and rural raccoons on the same tasks to see if the differences exist from birth. This is easier said than done so it is taking several years to collect enough data,” she went into detail about her research.

#4

Once In A Lifetime .... Albino Raccoon Found On Our Vacation In Texas

Once In A Lifetime .... Albino Raccoon Found On Our Vacation In Texas

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#5

Trash Pandas Found At Work

Trash Pandas Found At Work

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#6

So I Set My Deer Feeder High Off The Ground So The Raccoons Couldn't Reach It

So I Set My Deer Feeder High Off The Ground So The Raccoons Couldn't Reach It

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But just how smart are raccoons and how do they compare to human beings and animals like dogs? Well, Dr. MacDonald stressed the fact that it’s very difficult to compare things across species, especially when we’re talking about something as hard to define as intelligence.

“A researcher over 100 years ago did a memory test to compare dogs, monkeys, raccoons, and children, and he claimed that the raccoons and kids were the smartest! Certainly, raccoons are not evil geniuses, and they don’t compare with humans in terms of brainpower. Dogs are pretty special, too, because they evolved with humans and so are exquisitely tuned to human behavior. Raccoons have their own kind of smarts, not really the same as any other animal,” she said.

#7

When You Realize You Don't Want To Be Responsible For Anything Anymore And You Just Want To Nap And Be Small

When You Realize You Don't Want To Be Responsible For Anything Anymore And You Just Want To Nap And Be Small

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#8

Our 93 Year Old Neighbor Passed Away On Sunday. Apparently He Was Feeding These Little Sweeties. Now They Come To Our Door. My Husband Is The New Proud Father Of These 4 Trash Pandas

Our 93 Year Old Neighbor Passed Away On Sunday. Apparently He Was Feeding These Little Sweeties. Now They Come To Our Door. My Husband Is The New Proud Father Of These 4 Trash Pandas

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Raccoons are curious, have very dexterous, nimble hands, and can squish their spines down to get into small spaces. So trash pandas (at least the urban variety) are able to open fridge doors and Tupperware, unzip tents, and even turn doorknobs. Though the latter takes a lot of effort, raccoons seem to have one-upped aliens from movies who seem baffled by doorknobs.

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Why would anyone call raccoons trash pandas? Like a lot of things, it all started with an accurate but wayward comment on social media. Way back in 2014, redditor CarlPeligro left a comment stating "Raccoons = trash pandas" and it all snowballed from there.

When you think about it, the name fits, doesn’t it? Raccoons really do love going through trashcans. Meanwhile, they look a lot like black and white versions of red pandas (just keep in mind that they’re not actually related to panda bears despite their name), and voilà, you’ve got yourself a very strong reason to call raccoons trash pandas. We just hope they take it as a compliment of their skills. Trashcans are hard to open when you're as small as a raccoon, after all.

#10

You Forgot To Pick Me Up From Practice

You Forgot To Pick Me Up From Practice

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#12

Trash Panda On Its Way To The Promised Land

Trash Panda On Its Way To The Promised Land

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#13

The Situation At My Friends Apartment Right Now

The Situation At My Friends Apartment Right Now

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Raine Soo
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Don't use the stairs, they said. Slide down the bannister, they said. It will be lots of fun, they said. Yeah, now I'm stuck."

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#14

Found A Raccoon In This Exact Position

Found A Raccoon In This Exact Position

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#16

My Sister Sent Me This Pic Of A Trash Panda Hanging Out In Her Neighbor's Gutter

My Sister Sent Me This Pic Of A Trash Panda Hanging Out In Her Neighbor's Gutter

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#17

Best Day Ever, Took A Lot To Pull Myself Away

Best Day Ever, Took A Lot To Pull Myself Away

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#18

While Taking Wedding Photos In The Park, We Were Visited By A Friendly Family Of Trash Pandas! They Checked Us Out For A Few Minutes, Then Went On Their Way

While Taking Wedding Photos In The Park, We Were Visited By A Friendly Family Of Trash Pandas! They Checked Us Out For A Few Minutes, Then Went On Their Way

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#20

One Of These Things Is Not Like The Others

One Of These Things Is Not Like The Others

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Helen Haley
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Be honest, if you were small enough to sleep in a pile of kittens, you know you would.

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#21

"A Raccoon Introduces His Shy And Hairless Brother To His Friends"

"A Raccoon Introduces His Shy And Hairless Brother To His Friends"

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Katinka Min
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Poor thing. It must be tough to survive without the protection of fur.

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#22

Little Trash Panda's First Steps Into Fine Arts

Little Trash Panda's First Steps Into Fine Arts

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#24

A Rare Shot Of Guardians Of The Galaxy 3 Casting Call

A Rare Shot Of Guardians Of The Galaxy 3 Casting Call

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#25

Found This Picture Of Me And My Pet Raccoon Fishing Together. He'd Wait For Me To Catch And Reel In A Fish So He Could Grab It And Eat It

Found This Picture Of Me And My Pet Raccoon Fishing Together. He'd Wait For Me To Catch And Reel In A Fish So He Could Grab It And Eat It

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#26

This Fat Fool Had To Be Rescued By Animal Control

This Fat Fool Had To Be Rescued By Animal Control

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#28

What Taking Care Of 4 Trash Pandas Is Really Like

What Taking Care Of 4 Trash Pandas Is Really Like

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#29

He Was So Ashamed Of Needing Human Help

He Was So Ashamed Of Needing Human Help

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#30

Paint Me Like One Of Your French Trash Pandas

Paint Me Like One Of Your French Trash Pandas

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#31

If You're Having A Bad Day Just Go Outside, Maybe You'll Stumble Upon Some Adorable Trash Pandas

If You're Having A Bad Day Just Go Outside, Maybe You'll Stumble Upon Some Adorable Trash Pandas

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#32

In 200 Feet, Turn Right At The Intersection

In 200 Feet, Turn Right At The Intersection

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#34

He Snack And Get Fat. But Most Importantly - Don't Fit Down Crack

He Snack And Get Fat. But Most Importantly - Don't Fit Down Crack

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#37

We Ran Into Some Wild Raccoons In Chicago. There Were About 7 Of Them! They Are Fans Of Cheese Puffs

We Ran Into Some Wild Raccoons In Chicago. There Were About 7 Of Them! They Are Fans Of Cheese Puffs

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#39

I Came Home Last Night To Find This Thief Just Standing There Menacingly

I Came Home Last Night To Find This Thief Just Standing There Menacingly

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#43

This Weird Cat Wanted To Float Today, I Couldn't Say No

This Weird Cat Wanted To Float Today, I Couldn't Say No

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Kevin Donegan
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Paul unknowingly let the wild raccoon crawl onto this chest. This is the last photo of Paul with a bottom lip.

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#45

Yes Ma'am, I'm Sure It's Raccoons In Your Attic

Yes Ma'am, I'm Sure It's Raccoons In Your Attic

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Natasha Chick
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

we have mice in our attic at the moment and they are soooo loud. I literally cant imagine the amount of noise racoons would make!

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#46

An Actual Picture Taken Of My Fiancée And Her Sister In 2001

An Actual Picture Taken Of My Fiancée And Her Sister In 2001

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#50

When You Hear A Wild Bit Of Gossip

When You Hear A Wild Bit Of Gossip

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Note: this post originally had 161 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.