As night falls on Florida Atlantic University’s Boca Raton campus, sparse groups of busy students rush to and from their evening classes — but they’re not alone. Nighttime at FAU doesn’t only bring choirs of crickets; it also brings plenty of raccoons.

With fluffy tails and beady eyes wrapped in dark fur, these masked critters sneakily stalk the natural areas of campus, digging through garbage bags for their next meal. Although they may attack if threatened, many wildlife experts report that the presence of raccoons can be peaceful and even beneficial.

Maria Manzano, the program assistant for FAU’s School of Communication and Multimedia Studies, is no stranger to raccoons. She reminisced on an encounter with three full-grown raccoons while having a late lunch alone outside the Culture and Society building.

“If you make a sudden move, they will usually go away… not this time,” Manzano exclaimed, noting the raccoon’s lack of fear toward humans.

Instead, the raccoons took over and jumped up on the table where she was eating.

“They took my lunchbox. I had to buy everything all over again. They took all my things,” Manzano said with a laugh, adding that ever since the incident she has avoided eating lunch in that area again.

Manzano believes FAU should have signs advising people to avoid approaching the raccoons. She noted the presence of raccoons on campus is not an issue yet, but that this could change.

“If people were starting to feed them, that would become, I think, an issue,” she said, adding that the raccoons would begin expecting food and appearing in numbers.

Wendy Ash Graves, FAU’s Office of Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) director, echoed this issue. She wrote in an email to the University Press on Nov. 12: “One of our biggest challenges remains the feeding of these animals by people on campus who may not be unaware that doing so is not permitted under Florida Law.”

Graves explained that her department oversees wildlife management and responds to reports of sick, injured or aggressive wildlife on campus. 

FAU community members can control the population of raccoons on campus by reducing accessible food waste and refraining from feeding the animals, Graves suggested.

The FAU Public Health Manual’s animal policy explains people must not feed or approach wild animals on campus. According to the manual’s fifth page, “All wildlife contact should be avoided, particularly raccoons. Animals exhibiting signs of sickness and aggressive behavior should be reported to EH&S at 297-3129.”

However, the presence of raccoons is not always a nuisance; it can also be advantageous. Raccoons are beneficial because they control insect and rodent populations, according to the St. Lucie County website.

“We continue to work with departments around FAU on how to live and work harmoniously with our wildlife,” Graves wrote.

According to Ethan Osborne, owner of Palm Beach Wildlife Services, these raccoons are common in South Florida. After Osborne receives calls about raccoons, he sets up humane live traps to avoid hurting them. 

Osborne advised people to contact an experienced animal trapper to remove a raccoon if it becomes a problem. He warns against people removing raccoons on their own, as raccoons can be fairly unpredictable.

In 2013, The Palm Beach Post reported on a raccoon captured at FAU’s Jupiter campus. The raccoon was hissing, spitting and acting aggressively. According to health officials, the raccoon was confirmed positive for rabies.

According to Osborne, it is uncommon for a raccoon to carry rabies, as the disease is fatal to raccoons. Rabies can also be passed on from the mother to its babies. Baby raccoons that contract rabies will often not live past a year. However, a raccoon that is carrying rabies can be contagious to people. 

Students on the Boca Raton campus have reached out to Osborne’s company about seeing raccoons. Osborne has also received calls from residents in Boca Raton, whose upscale pools often attract raccoons.

“They’re very clean animals, so they like to wash their hands in the pool,” said Osborne. However, he added that the raccoons sometimes poop in the water.

However, Osborne explained that while they don’t belong in pools or even attics, raccoons are good for the South Florida ecosystem, and people should leave the raccoons alone. As he advised them to avoid feeding or disturbing them.

The FAU raccoons are likely attracted to food from the garbage cans, as they provide a consistent source of nutrients, Osborne stated.

“As long as raccoons know that there’s a consistent food source around, they’re going to be hanging out,” Osborne said.

Another wildlife expert is Joshua Smith, the owner of Nexus Nuisance Animal Services business that serves Palm Beach and Broward County. He said that because there are many people on the school campus, plenty of trash gets left around.

Smith added that when people feed feral cats, the food often attracts raccoons. He explained that there have been various feral cats around FAU and believes their leftover food could be contributing to a large number of raccoons on campus.

“I’ve even seen the raccoons and the cats sharing the meal,” he said.

Problems with raccoons often come from situations where humans feed them, according to a report published by the University of Florida. UF stated that raccoons eat about everything imaginable and are almost never in danger of starvation.

According to the Leon County Government website, supplemental feeding encourages wildlife to depend on handouts that are not part of their natural diets which can lead to health issues.

“Feeding wild animals is a case of misplaced compassion because it is doing more harm than good,” they wrote on their website.

Nathalie Vega is a Staff Writer for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email her at nvega2019@fau.edu.