If you’re still re-living being the long-term caretaker of the “must-have” turtle your kid begged for 15 years ago, brace yourself—because the next generation of pet demands might come with tiny hands, bandit masks and a taste for your trash!
Yep, researchers say raccoons are slowly evolving to look cuter as they spend more time around humans. Not cleaner. Not less disease-ridden. Just…adorably conniving. According to biologists at the University of Arkansas, once wild animals start hanging around people, they become less afraid and may even show early signs of “domestication syndrome”—which, apparently, includes weaponized cuteness.
But before your kid tries to convince you that a raccoon is “basically a dog with thumbs,” let’s shut this down. Hard. Raccoons, foxes, and even urban mice might be getting softer facial features, but that does not make them suitable pets.
These animals are destructive, wild, and—in many places—flat-out illegal to keep. They need space, nature, and the freedom to knock over garbage cans at 3 a.m., not a spot in your living room.
So let’s appreciate their evolving charm from a distance…preferably while keeping the lid tightly on the bins!
Read more here ➡️ Dexerto
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