I wanted to ask the deer, “ How do you like them apples?”

Poor squirrels developed a banana habit quickly. They can regale their grandchildren about the time in the woods when an exotic fruit appeared, how delicious it was, and how they wait and hope  . . .

My sister used to have a loquat tree, and rabbits would show up at night to eat the rotting loquats and then proceed to stagger around the tree, seemingly intoxicated from the fermented fruit. So my sister had drunken bunnies dancing around her loquat tree each night!
My point (and I do have one) is that perhaps the animals were waiting for fermentation before enjoying the fruit. It's 5 o'clock somewhere - even in the woods! 🍌🍎🥂

2:21 my guess is because the bananas had finaly ferminted and they were getting drunk 😂

I think they're getting slightly drunk off the fermented bananas. Squirrels are notorious for that.😂

When the banana turns brown it becomes sweeter smelling and tasting so attracts the animals as a last chance to spread its seed like a symbiotic relationship pre-tuned into them. The smell of a browning banana is much stronger than green or yellow for sure.
Great video my friend :) 👌🏼

I fed a squirrel the first pineapple of her life and she was ECSTATIC and kept looking at me as she enjoyed this wondrous new fruit

Some animals prefer things to be a little more fermented. The fermentation brings out flavors that are typically not present when they are still fresh. Fermented bananas are particularly good for making banana bread as only in their fermented state do you get that really good banana flavor.

I came out of the corner store and saw a groundhog passed out in the parking lot. Idk what happened to him. Maybe he was having a heatstroke. I thought he was dead, but I got him to move a little. I took him home and gave him some orange powerade. I just poured some in the container I was holding him in. He was just laying in it until he got some on his mouth. He started lapping it up a little, but then he got tired. I just tried to get him hydrated and took him to the mountain where there was a lot of shade and a creek. He started coming to once we got there. I showed him the creek, and he started exploring the area. He still seemed a little tired and delirious, but he was up and exploring a little and not passed out on pavement anymore. Some people swore they saw him living up on the mountain at the creek. The area gets a lot of traffic because it's public land.

I think the bananas were ignored because they don't give off much of an aroma until they ripen. Once they ripe, they have chemicals known as 'esters'  which give off a stronger fruity smell. It was at that point they identified it as food. Plus it wasn't a fruit they are familiar with. I think if you tried it again a few weeks later in the same spot, they'd identify them quicker and not be willing to wait for them to ripen.

The fact that you captured a white raccoon on your trail cam is incredible.

So, bananas will actually ripen other fruits just by sitting near them, and this is because they give off a lot more of a hydrocarbon gas called ethylene. All fruits give off ethylene as they ripen. The more ripe a fruit is, the more ethylene it gives off. Ethylene actually causes ripening, and in the process of ripening it softens the fruit and converts starches to sugars. So the more ethylene a fruit is giving off, the more sugars it contains and the easier it is to eat. Animals that eat fruit will associate a strong ethylene smell with the BEST fruit--soft and containing those precious precious sugar calories. So the banana pile, as it got overripe, finally gave off such a strong ethylene smell that it overcame the unfamiliarity with "banana" and just projected "great sugar source". With the bananas still there, they smelled like more sugar than the apples did, so they were the first choice.

Those critters are all going to be ticked off when the food stops arriving...😆

A small raccoon with all 4 paws on an apple struggling to munch it is therapeutically adorable! 😃😊

The older the bananas get, the sweeter they get. They might have been waiting for them to mature.

Ex-zookeeper here. Worked in a zoo for 7 years with small and mid-sized primates and used to study wildlife management. The matter of exotic fruits always boiled down to the species of animals. Bananas and oranges met with general distrust among traditionally European or North American species. While pears, apples, berries were all around accepted and loved.
Sure you can adjust the diet of almost every animal with the right technique but they usually leave the exotic fruits for last.

In my knowledge every animal imprints something from the mother's milk taste and consistency. Whatever he or she was sucking out of the tats have a taste which reminds him or her of what they have to seek in the 'wild'. Plus they also mimic the parent animal. So if the parent animal is eating carrots and apples they will do just that. However they may partake in other food items as well. As kids - including juvenile animals - are curious by nature.

Otherwise a really good idea for a video and quality content. Respect.

OMG…those 2 deer babies…precious❤️

I fed 5 deer , 4 foxes , racoons and a possum and nobody ever got into a fight.They all seem to respect each others space. Loved watching them !!

Manners are important in the wild! Think about how easily an animal could get a nasty infection from the smallest cut - even if they win the fight that gave them it. Most of the time, they really do not want to fight unless they have to. I can't get enough of videos like these, I don't know what it is but watching animals get the most insane snack of their lives is just joy 😂

So cool.  Thank you.  Raccoon and possum families stop by on my patio for a drink of water.  The tiny ones are so cute!