Skip to content
TrackPodcasts
newsDec 12, 202522:42pending

The scientific reason raccoons may be getting cuter

The Big Story

About this episode

They're already the unofficial mascot of one of Canada's largest cities, with tons of Toronto merchandise donning adorable images of so-called "trash pandas" - but a new study out of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock theorizes they aren't just getting smarter - they may be getting cuter.

Host Kaitlin Lee speaks to Evolutionary Ecologist Albrecht Schulte-Hostedde from Laurentian University possible signs of "domestication" among urban raccoons, if that means they could one day be pets, and what the critters have to say about us.

We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:

Through email at [email protected]

Or @thebigstory.bsky.social on Bluesky


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Get every episode summarized

Each time The Big Story publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.

Email me new episodes

Free for 3 shows. No card needed.

Hosts & guests

No transcript yet

This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.

The scientific reason raccoons may be getting cuter

The Big Story

0:00
22:42

More episodes

More from The Big Story

View all episodes →