The footage, later included in a paper published in the journal Wild, documents the animals not only making the balls but also teaching their siblings how to do it. O’Neil says this is the first recorded example of “material culture” – socially shared knowledge about objects – in the Procyonidae family, which includes raccoons and ringtails.

Pygmy raccoons are a critically endangered species that live only on Cozumel Island off Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. With only about 200 individuals left, their mangrove habitat is being cleared for tourist development, forcing them to rely on discarded food and litter for survival.

The discovery matters because it shows that even a tiny, threatened mammal can develop and pass on complex behaviours when its environment changes. Highlighting this ingenuity may help raise awareness of the raccoons’ plight and encourage better protection of their remaining forest home.