Why Do Raccoons Rub Their Hands? A Comprehensive Explanation

Raccoons rubbing their hands together is an intriguing behavior that captures the imagination. If you’ve seen a raccoon exhibiting this peculiar habit, you likely wondered why they do it.

If you’re short on time, here’s the quick answer: Raccoons rub their hands to stimulate their senses, especially touch, and gather information about objects they want to interact with.

In this approximately 3000 word article, we’ll provide a comprehensive explanation of the reasons behind this distinctive raccoon trait. We’ll explore the evolutionary adaptions and biological factors that drive this behavior, what information raccoons gather when rubbing their hands, and the unique anatomy behind their nimble, dexterous paws.

The Evolutionary Adaptations Behind the Raccoon’s Sensitive Paws

Raccoons Descended From Tree Climbers Needing Sensitive Touch

Raccoons are part of the Procyonidae family, which includes animals adept at climbing like coatis and kinkajous. Evolutionary biologists believe Procyonidae ancestors were tree-dwellers who descended from primitive carnivores over 25 million years ago.

Living in trees requires special adaptations for balance, grip, and sensing surfaces.

The raccoon’s sensitive paws and nimble fingers likely evolved from these early tree climbers who needed to expertly grasp branches and judge the texture of bark. In fact, studies show that raccoons have nearly as much sensory perception in their paws as primates do in their hands.

Their Front Paws Evolved for Manipulating Objects

A raccoon’s front paws are perfectly adapted for feeling, grabbing, and manipulating objects. They have five dexterous toes that allow them to grasp items like door knobs and garbage can lids with ease. Their toes also have strong claws for clinging to surfaces as they climb.

When raccoons rub their hands together in water, they are using these sensitive paws to increase tactile feedback. The water likely heightens their sense of touch due to physics principles like surface tension and friction.

This “hand washing” gives them greater information about what they are touching.

Many Nerve Endings in Raccoon Hands and Fingers

A raccoon’s front paws contain intricately wired nervous systems with highly developed sensory capabilities. Studies estimate over 400,000 nerve endings packed into a raccoon’s front paws and individual fingers.

This incredible amount of sensory neurons allows raccoons to have an extremely precise and delicate sense of touch. When they rub their paws together in water, it further stimulates these nerve endings to gather tactile information.

Why Raccoons Rub Their Hands: Stimulating the Senses

Touch Helps Raccoons Gather Valuable Information

Raccoons have extremely sensitive front paws and rely heavily on the sense of touch to explore their surroundings (PBS). By rubbing their hands together, raccoons activate nerve endings that provide a wealth of tactile information.

This allows them to efficiently identify objects, gauge textures, and locate food sources.

According to wildlife experts, the raccoon’s sense of touch is even more acute than that of primates. When foraging, they can skillfully manipulate objects and detect subtle vibrations to uncover hidden treats.

The sensitivity gained from hand-rubbing gives raccoons an advanced understanding of their physical environment.

Rubbing Hands Together Heightens Sensitivity

Veterinarians have found that concentrated areas of nerve receptors exist in raccoons’ forepaws. By vigorously rubbing their hands, raccoons stimulate these nerve centers which increases tactile acuity. The action essentially primes their hands to better receive sensory information.

This effect is similar to when humans rub their hands together to warm them up on a cold day. The friction improves circulation which reawakens numb fingers. For raccoons, however, the purpose is to amplify their exceptional sense of touch even further before interacting with objects.

Cleanliness and Removing Debris Also Factors

Hand-rubbing likely serves additional functions beyond enhancing sensitivity. Raccoons in the wild get their paws dirty while foraging for food. Constant digging through trash, climbing trees, and scavenging meal remnants can cause significant debris buildup.

Wildlife rehabilitators note that raccoons frequently rub their hands as a means of basic grooming and maintenance. The action helps remove caked-on residue, mud, sap, and other grime they accumulate from daily activity (Bear Research Institute).

This keeps their highly important tactile organs clean for optimal sensory reception.

What Information Do Raccoons Gather By Rubbing Hands?

Assessing Shape, Size, and Texture

Raccoons have extremely sensitive paws and fingers that they use to explore objects. The raccoon’s paws have special receptors that allow them to feel the finer details of items they touch. When a raccoon rubs its hands together, it is gathering key information about shape, size, and texture of objects that can help it identify food sources or other useful items.

Raccoons rub surfaces to determine if something is smooth or rough, hard or soft. They can detect subtle differences in textures, which helps them evaluate if an object may be edible. The rubbing motion also allows them to sense the precise form of an item, so they can grasp it more easily.

Raccoons have even shown the ability to identify objects by touch alone.

Evaluating Potential Food Objects

One of the main reasons raccoons rub their hands on items is to determine if they may be food sources. Raccoons have an extremely good sense of touch that aids their foraging abilities. By rubbing and touching potential food, they can gather details like ripeness, hardness, and texture that help them evaluate if it is worth eating.

For example, raccoons will rub and squeeze fruits, vegetables, eggs, nuts, and other foods with their dexterous paws to check for soft spots or cracks that make items easier to open and consume. They can also detect subtle changes in the outside of foods that signal ripeness.

This tactile sensing allows them to forage efficiently for nutritious meals.

Examining Inanimate Items Out of Curiosity

In addition to evaluating food, raccoons will rub and handle any unusual or novel objects they find simply out of curiosity. Their sense of touch helps them to “see” and understand items in their environment.

Raccoons have been observed picking up and rubbing manmade items like bottles, tools, and toys. they do not seem to have a specific purpose other than to explore and learn more about strange new objects.

Some experts think this manipulative behavior and tactile exploration is a form of play that helps raccoons develop their motor skills and knowledge about their surroundings. Young raccoons in particular can spend hours handling, rubbing and dunking random objects they find to discover their qualities and functions.

The Anatomy Behind the Raccoon’s Nimble Paws

Highly Flexible Wrists and Toes

Raccoons have remarkably flexible front paws due to having the ability to rotate their wrists almost 360 degrees (PBS). This gives them excellent maneuverability to grab and manipulate objects. Their toes can also spread wide apart, enabling them to grasp items with great dexterity.

When raccoons rub their hands together, they are taking advantage of this flexibility. The wrist rotation and toe spreading/grasping motions allow them to thoroughly scrub their paws over one another.

Toes Similar to Human Fingers

A raccoon’s front paws have five toes, much like human hands have five fingers. Their toes are extremely sensitive, functioning like tactile fingers (PBS).

The toe tips contain over 240,000 sensory receptors in just one square centimeter of skin. This remarkable touch sensitivity aids raccoons in identifying objects by feel alone. When they rub their hands together, they are stimulating these tactile receptors, likely enjoying the sensory experience.

Hairless and Ribbed Palm Pads

While the backs of a raccoon’s paws are covered in fur, their palms have only thin hair and prominently ridged skin (Encyclopaedia Britannica). The ridges and relative hairlessness increase sensitivity and grip ability.

When raccoons rub their palms together in a washing motion, they are able to work dirt, debris and excess moisture from deep within the skin ridges. The friction and heat generated helps clean and dry their hands, keeping them sensitive and improving traction.

Conclusion

In summary, raccoons rub their nimble, sensitive paws together to boost tactile feedback about objects that catch their curiosity. Special evolutionary adaptions give them unique hands with many nerve endings packed into hairless, ribbed palm pads.

By stimulating these receptive paws, raccoons gather valuable sensory information to interpret the world.

The next time you spot this unusual raccoon behavior, you’ll know it’s tied to their history as tree climbers and serve important sensory purposes that aid their survival.