The bit about creating latches that require opposable thumbs is vaguely troubling to me. Creating selection pressure for opposable thumbs in raccoons (or some functionally similar anatomy like the sesamoid in pandas) seems like a very bad idea. Raccoons with opposable thumbs are nightmare fuel to me.
i've wondered what pest animals might become given a million-year urban civilization. hands for sure. racoons become elves, miniature versions of ourselves, lurking in the shadows.
ed: Misspelling. Thanks!