Raccoons are wild animals. So they would rather avoid humans at all cost than come face to face with them by running away. Furthermore, raccoons are not aggressive animals and hence they do not attack people for just no reason. However, sometimes raccoons will find themselves in situations where they have to attack, especially when referring to human beings.

Some raccoons are bold and fearless. They approach up to very close proximities to other animals and even people. For instance, a bold raccoon comes to a human residential home to look for food in the trash can. Coincidently, there is someone outside at the same time and close to the trash area. This raccoon will not consider the presence of the person but its focus is to go scavenge for food. When close and he tries to scare off or chase the raccoon away, it will run away but unfortunately takes the wrong direction where there is no way to escape to. In this scenario, the raccoon feels cornered and trapped and without a doubt, it will attack to defend itself or as a decoy to find a way out of the trap.



A mother will do anything to protect the young ones from any danger. This is a motherly instinct that all living beings that nurse their young ones have. Raccoons are no exception to this mother’s natural instinct. For instance, if a raccoon has settled in your premises and on finding out you try to get rid of her, and without knowing you approach its nest where the young ones are, the mother will definitely attack in an effort to protect the pups as the raccoon views you as a danger to her babies.

Wild raccoons are meant to live and survive in the wild, but occasionally they will be seen in human settlement areas to look for food. They will ravage the trash cans and compost sites in the yard garden or around hotels. Some people might find this amusing and start feeding them intentionally by hand. This is not a good idea as the raccoon gets used to always getting food and will always come back and may extend this welcome into your home. In this case, the raccoon poses health dangers to your family. Furthermore, while feeding the raccoon by hand, it will not necessarily attack but might bite you by mistake.

Another instance where a raccoon will attack is if it affected with rabies. One of the symptoms of a rabid animal is aggressiveness and so a rabid raccoon will attack humans anytime for no reason at all. If you suspect that a raccoon has rabies from the way it is behaving, it is advisable to keep away and call animal control.

Read the How to get rid of raccoons page for helpful information and to learn more about Do raccoons attack people?

Do raccoons attack people?