This curious raccoon climbed the stairs to the party deck atop my houseboat. Raccoons are omnivorous - consuming a varied diet that includes berries, insects, fruit, chickens, small mammals, cardinals, tarheels, tigers, and jayhawks. They sometimes wash, or douse, their food in water before eating it. It is not known why they perform dousing, but cleaning food is unlikely to be the reason. Studies have found that raccoons engage in dousing motions even when water is unavailable. Because captive raccoons are more likely than wild raccoons to douse food, it has been suggested that captive raccoons are mimicking fishing and shellfish-foraging behaviors.