Animal Observation II

Bryttni Pugh

Johnson

PSYC 2110-001

24 October 2017
I. Catalog of Behaviors

Behaviors Definitions

Rest Still; sitting on hind legs and propping up self

with front legs; eyes open
Alert Still; eyes open and staring; standing up on
the hind legs with the front limbs loosely in
front and on the belly
Digging Grounded hind legs on surface; front legs
move around the inside of the object or its
surface; front legs alternate and scoop
towards the body; head lowers near the front
legs and occasionally pauses and looks up
Sniffing Head low to the ground; walking slowly with
few pauses; moves snout up and down in a
small but rapid motion about the surface
Eating Back and hind legs arched up; front paws
grab food; front limbs cup together and grasp
food; chews fast with open mouth and tilting
the head slightly back
Chittering High pitched, rapid noises at irregular
intervals
Walking Steady pace with opposition of the limbs; rear
is higher than the head; head low to the
ground; tail pointing towards the floor
Climbing Reaching up or to the side and grabbing with
extended front limbs; hind legs wide and to
the side, gripping surface with feet;
alternating or hopping the limbs to reach the
top of an object

II. Behavioral Observation

1. Context

A. Date: 20 October 2017

B. Time: 9:30pm-10:30pm

C. Location: Charlotte, NC

D. Weather conditions: 50 degrees outdoors

E. Habitat: wooded area and sidewalk next to Lot 5 on UNCC campus

 F. Social context: It is nighttime on campus in Lot 5, so there are still a handful of

cars left in the parking lot. There are also a few remaining cars in East Deck,

across from Lot 5. A few cars drive past on Van Landingham Road. There are a

few people that walk past every now and then at irregular intervals, entering the

surrounding parking lots that are lit by dull yellow street lamps. There is a

wooded area next to the sidewalk and Lot 5 where animals and insects, such as

squirrels and crickets, can be heard. Lastly, other raccoons are briefly present in

the parking lot, walking into the wooded area.

2. Description

A. Focal Animal ID: R0

B. Sex: female

C. Size (height/weight): about ten inches and twelve pounds

D. Color: grey with white on the face and belly; black circles around the eyes;

black and grey striped tail

E. Scientific name: Procyon lotor

3. Observation

9:30pm-9:45pm: R0 walks at a steady pace from the perimeter of Lot 5 to the

sidewalk near the wooded area. Her head is lowered and her rear is raised as she

alternates her feet. She begins to approach me; I am sitting on the curb between the trash

and recycle bins and the parking lot. R0 is lit by a dull yellow street light, and she stays

on the innermost side of the sidewalk near the trees. She continues her steady pace as she

slightly curves her path and walks in my direction, but I only make eye contact with her

small, beady black eyes. The eye contact is brief, lasting only a few seconds, before she
proceeds to walk towards the trash and recycle cans. R0 slowly walks around the trash

can with her head towards the floor, sniffing the base of the trash can with her black and

white snout.

9:45pm-10:00pm: R0 begins to raise her snout, sniffing the sides of the trash can.

She gently places her front paws on the slits of the metal covering and pauses in stillness,

staring at the trash can and then looking to her left. With her two front legs fully extended

up and wide, she grabs a slit with each paw. She is standing tall on her hind legs and then

lifts the right leg onto a metal slit of the trash can. She then lifts her left leg up and places

it in the space between two metal slits. R0 reaches her right paw onto the edge of the

trash cans top and quickly places her left paw there, too. Her legs dangle beneath her as

she pushes her paws down on the rim, tilting her head and upper body forward over her

extended front limbs. Her right leg then left leg reaches the rim, and she proceeds to stand

on the thin circular surface of the trash cans top. She slowly takes a couple of steps

forward, facing her lower body parallel to the hole of the trash can and bending her upper

body towards the hole. Her weight is shifted fully on her hind legs, so her front limbs are

loose and able to dig through the trash. R0 lowers her head close to the hole, and she

reaches inside with her front limbs. She alternates them back and forth, scooping items

towards her with a light grip. She grabs an item out of the center of the trash can and

places it on the circular surface in front of her. I slowly walk closer to her in an attempt to

take a picture, and she stands still, looking at me until I put my phone down.

10:00pm-10:15pm: R0 looks back at the food item taken out of the trash can and

puts her paws on the wrapper. With cupped paws, she grabs a scrap of food out of the

wrapper; the food item is unknown. She lifts her paws to her mouth and takes a bite out
of the food. She chews rapidly with her mouth open, occasionally looking upward and

making her pink tongue visible. She repeats this process until the food is gone. She digs

into the trash for a few more minutes and finds other scrap food items for consumption.

She looks up at me briefly and then uses her front limbs to grip the metal slits. She slowly

alternates her paws closer to the ground, elevates her hind legs, and raises her rear. With

a small hop to the ground, R0 lands on her right hip but quickly gets back up to all fours.

She walks steadily towards me; I am sitting on the curb again in a knock-kneed position.

She very slowly walks up to my left foot, lifting her small paws from her palms to her

fingertips. She sniffs my foot, rapidly moving her snout up and down on my shoe. R0

proceeds to sniff my ankle or the top of my sock. I do not move but simply look at her.

She is still, and she looks up with her eyes and with her head still slightly tilted down

towards my foot, making eye contact with me yet again. She breaks eye contact by

moving her head to the left, although her body remains in the same crouched position.

10:15pm-10:30pm: R0 walks away from me and then pauses in an alert pose. She

stands still with her eyes open, staring at the dimly lit parking lot. She is standing up on

her hind legs with her front legs loosely in front of her and on her belly. High pitched

noises are heard at irregular intervals, and she walks swiftly to the wooded area. I lose her

for a few minutes until the chittering is heard again. She comes out of the woods into the

same posture and then sits on her hind legs. Three other raccoons appear in the middle of

Lot 5. Their silhouettes can be seen walking under the street lamp at a fast pace towards

the wooded area. R0 puts her front limbs on the ground and lifts her hind legs and rear.

She then walks on the sidewalk past the trash can and into the wooded area that the other

raccoons entered.
III. Comments/Insights

The problems and challenges I had when observing the wild animal were tracking enough

movement and detail within the time limit, recording the data with only street lamps as light

sources, trying to not be distracted by the limited cars and strangers that would pass by, hoping

that the raccoon would not run away due to the social context, and making sure that I did not

intrude her nightly adventure. Fortunately, the raccoon may live on or be very present on UNCCs

campus; therefore, the passersby did not catch the attention of the raccoon. If I werent recording

information, I would have interacted with the raccoon as she was calm and I regularly interact with

animals. However, I had to let the raccoon interact with me without reciprocation.

Objectively observing an animal I was unfamiliar with made me think of her as a wild animal at

first but then she appeared more pet-like the longer I observed her. Perhaps I started comparing

the raccoon to my pets in my mind in order to understand or relate behaviors. It was easy to not

project any interpretations as I was beginning to observe the raccoon, but I had to make certain

that I did not project any interpretations as time went on. I simply had to be attentive and become

aware of its various movements and actions.

The wild raccoon observation differs from the domestic cat observation. The raccoon is more slow

and steady with its movement and actions whereas the cat was quite energetic and had a

companion. The cat also had more actions within a one-hour time span than the raccoon.

Regardless of the time difference for recording the behaviors, I feel as if I was able to record more

with the cat because I am familiar with him and his every movement. I interact and watch him

daily in my home, so I knew the execution of his actions well and had to further pay attention to

specifics. Since I do not see raccoons on a daily basis, I had to pay attention to the basics and the

specifics at the same time to deeply observe and familiarize myself with its behavior.