Cozumel raccoons turn trash paper into balls, and another learns by watching

A young Cozumel pygmy raccoon did not enter a beach-club trash bin looking for food. It took scraps of paper, carried them to a nearby bowl of water and turned them into toys.

The raccoon wet receipts and tissues, placed them on sand, then pressed, flipped and rolled them until they formed small balls. It batted the balls with its paws, chased them and rolled them between its front feet. Researchers saw no evidence that the animals were eating the paper or searching the balls for food.

The behavior was observed during research on how tourism affects the endangered Cozumel pygmy raccoon, on the Mexican island of Cozumel. In 64 hours of observation, scientists recorded 14 instances of the ball-making sequence. Eight produced complete balls.

The researchers became especially interested when a second young raccoon watched the first. On January 19, the first raccoon performed the sequence successfully while its sibling approached and failed in its own attempts. In one instance, the first animal pulled a piece of paper from the other’s paws and completed the ball while the second played with one already made.

The second raccoon continued trying. By January 29, about five days after the first had been moved elsewhere for medical care, it independently used food wrapping and a receipt to make two complete balls with water, sand and stones. The mother also played, and two young coatis joined in. The researchers said the behavior may offer preliminary evidence of material culture, but they could not conclude that the first raccoon deliberately taught the other or that the behavior represents a stable cultural tradition.

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The behavior initially appeared in one individual and was then transmitted to other members of the group.