Watch Baby Raccoon Free Its Mother From Trap

A couple of years ago, raccoons wreaked havoc on my screened-in back porch. They tore up cushions, toppled over furniture, and ripped the screen door. So, I set a live trap and waited. Morning after morning, I walked out to discover an empty trap with missing bait. I could never figure out how the raccoons managed to get the food without getting caught. 

The video footage above reveals one possibility. Wayne Griffith posted the video on YouTube showing a raccoon’s impressive escape from a live trap. In the video, you see a mother raccoon in the trap. Then her baby pulls a lever, which opens the trap. The baby grabs the mother’s tail and encourages her to back out. It almost looks as if the baby knew exactly what to do. I wonder if it had freed its mother from a trap in the past. 

As you no doubt know, raccoons have impressive problem-solving skills, but did you know they are almost as smart as monkeys?

According to Biotech Pest Management, raccoons rank above cats and just below monkeys on the mammal IQ scale. Monkeys generally score just below humans and great apes on the scale, which means that, when it comes to smarts, raccoons are not as far behind humans as one may think.

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