Like most New Yorkers, this stripy-tailed, masked bandit (Procyon lotor) is adaptable, resourceful, always on the lookout for a free meal.
Raccoons are well equipped to survive in the urban jungle. In addition to being able to climb, dig, and swim, they have thumb-like digits on their front paws that allow them to grab, twist, pull, and tear. They can open trash cans, dig through garbage, and grab seed from bird feeders—all food sources that other wildlife would have a much harder time accessing.