Commercially available olfactory cues from apex predators do not deter the raccoon (Procyon lotor), a problematic mesopredator

Understanding what factors influence an animal’s decision-making process on what to eat and where to go is fundamental to creating management strategies. One focus of a management strategy is mitigating negative consequences from unwanted wildlife foraging such as over-predation of endangered species by the common raccoon (Procyon lotor). Many environmental factors can generate a ‘landscape of fear’ whereby animals modify their behavior and distribution in response to variation in predation risk. Utilizing direct cues from predators to instill fear in foraging raccoons could be a way to deter this mesopredator from areas where species of conservation concern are located. To test whether scent cues instill fear behavior in raccoons, we repeatedly tested captive raccoons’ foraging decisions in a food associated Y-maze in response to commercially available urine from various predators (Coyote- Canis latrans; Wolf- Canis lupus; Puma- Puma concolor). Raccoons significantly entered the maze more quickly in response to all predator scents, with coyote scent decreasing latency greater than wolf and puma scent. However, time spent in the maze did not differ when predator scent was used, or in response to any single scent. Raccoons spent different proportions of time in the arm with the predator scent, spending less time in the arm with coyote scent compared to the puma and wolf scent. These results contrast with the hypothesis that urine from predators leads to fear induced behaviors in raccoons, such as avoidance of areas smelling of predator urine. While direct cues from predators might influence a raccoon’s landscape of fear, commercially available predator urine does not alter their foraging behavior in a way that suggests success as a management strategy for raccoon deterrence from target areas.