Raccoon Dog

Raccoon dogs can climb trees, swim, and dive underwater

Raccoon dogs live in Europe and Asia. Although they look similar to raccoons, they are not related to them. These animals are omnivores and are active at night and part of the day. They have a lifespan of 6 to 11 years. They are social animals that live in pairs or small groups.

Incredible Facts!

• These animals are closely related to the fox.
• They have an average of 6 babies per litter.
• They eat birds, fish, insects, and fruit.
• These creatures have very poor eyesight.
• They hibernate during extreme snowstorms.

Scientific Name

The scientific name for the common raccoon dog is Nyctereutes procyonoides. The Greek word Nyctereutes mean night wanderer: nykt (night), ereutes (wanderer). It belongs to the Family Canidae and Class Mammalia.

There are four subspecies of the common raccoon dog:

• Chinese raccoon dog (N. p. procyonoides) in eastern China
• Korean racoon dog (N. p. koreensis) in Korea
• Yunnan raccoon dog (N. p. orestes) in southeastern China and northern Vietnam
• Ussuri raccoon dog N. p. ussuriensis) in Russia’s Siberian and Amur territories, northeastern China, and North Korea; introduced to Europe.

The Japanese raccoon dog was once thought to be a subspecies (N. p. viverrinus), but the current opinion is that it is a separate species since it has a larger skull and teeth. Other names for the common raccoon dog are Japanese badger, tanuki, mangut, and Neoguri (the Korean name for this animal).

Appearance

The thick coat of the raccoon dog is a mixture of brown, gray, tan, and black hair. It has a black tail and a black stripe across its shoulders. A raccoon dogs has two dark eyes and fox-like ears.

Along with black hair on its neck, the raccoon dog has black hair on its nose and black rings around both its eyes. This mask of black hair makes this animal look like a raccoon. Now you know how it got its name! But it’s not actually related to a raccoon. In fact, its closest relative is the fox.

In Japan and China, there are a few mangut, or tanuki, with a coat of pure white fur. The saying goes that if you see an all-white tanuki, you can expect good luck to come your way. Unfortunately, these tanuki are rarely seen.

An adult measures between 20 and 27 inches long. The weight of an adult animal ranges between 9 and 20 pounds. As an example, a 20-pound raccoon dog weighs about the same as two average-sized housecats. The heaviest known raccoon dog was 22 pounds.

Racoon dogs have poor eyesight but an excellent sense of smell. This helps them to find prey, especially when hunting at night.

Behavior

This mammal lives and hunts in pairs or with a small family. A social group of raccoon dogs is called a pack. They try to avoid being seen but will become aggressive if they feel threatened.

This animal’s brown coat allows it to blend in with its environment as a protection against predators. These mammals can also swim and climb trees to escape threats. The ability to climb trees is a characteristic they share with one other animal from the Canidae family, namely the gray fox.

Habitat

Raccoon dogs live in Europe and Asia. Specifically, they live in China, Japan, Russia, Vietnam, North Korea, South Korea, Austria, France, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Germany, Sweden, and Finland.

These animals live in a temperate climate. Their habitat includes coniferous and broadleaf forests as well as grasslands. They have also been known to live in urban settings.

These mammals live in areas of thick vegetation where they can hide and blend in with their environment. When food becomes scarce in their habitat, these mammals migrate to find a new territory where prey is more plentiful. They are adaptable and can move long distances to find a food source.

The activities of these animals slow down in the wintertime from December to February. They hibernate, but only during serious snowstorms. They find an abandoned burrow created by a badger or other animal and settle in for the cold weather months. These mammals hibernate in pairs.

Diet

What do these animals eat? They are omnivores that eat birds, insects, lizards, snakes, and mice. Plants, berries, and nuts are also on the menu. This mammal can swim, so it captures frogs, crabs, and fish in rivers and streams.

Some raccoon dogs live in urban environments where wildlife is scarce. So, they’ve been known to dig through garbage cans and eat leftovers thrown away by people. Sometimes raccoon dogs steal eggs out of birds’ nests. In short, they adapt to eating whatever is in their environment and are sometimes called scavengers.

Predators and Threats

Predators of the raccoon dog include wolverines, wolves, lynx, Golden eagles, and domesticated dogs. If the animal can’t escape from a predator, it has only its teeth and claws to use for protection. Many of its predators are stronger and can overpower this mammal.

Humans are another threat to these animals. There is a demand for the fur of a raccoon dog, so they are sometimes caught in traps set by poachers. Plus, in Japan, these animals are a form of cuisine.

Raccoon dogs that live in urban environments near homes are considered pests because they can transmit disease to pets and even humans. They are sometimes poisoned or shot if they enter these environments. They can be killed while trying to cross roads in busy areas as well.

Despite all of their predators and threats, the official conservation status of these animals is Least Concern. Their population is categorized as stable.

Reproduction, Babies and Lifespan

The mating season of these animals begins in February and goes through April. A female releases a scent to signal she is ready to mate. Three or four males fight over her to see which one is strongest. Once a female and a male pair up they are mates for life. This means they are monogamous.

The gestation period of a female falls between 60 and 70 days. Raccoon dog babies, also known as pups, are born in April or May. A female usually has six pups per litter, but there have been litters with as many as 15 or 16 pups in them. Both the males and females help to care for their pups.

These pups are born with eyes close and with a thin coat of coarse hair. They weigh two to six ounces. A six-ounce raccoon dog pup weighs the same as a pet hamster. At ten days, the pups’ eyes open. They are nursed for the first 40 to 60 days of their life but begin to eat some solid foods at three weeks old.

The pups remain with their parents until they are four and a half months old. After that, they go out and live independently. They reach adulthood at 10 months old. These mammals have a lifespan of 6 to 11 years. The oldest Japanese badger aka raccoon dog on record died at age 16. Its name was Tanu and it lived with a family in Japan.

As these mammals age, they can take on parasites and fleas as well as develop mange. In some cases, they have been known to carry rabies.

Population

The conservation status of these animals is Least Concern. Though their exact population is unknown in many areas, scientists estimate there are approximately 120,000 adult raccoon dogs in Finland.

The population of this mammal is categorized as stable mostly because it’s an adaptable creature that can find food and shelter in a variety of environments.