Tanuki - Japanese Racoon Dog

Summary: A raccoon that’s a dog? Not exactly. Join Kiersten as she introduces you to the Tanuki.

 

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

 

Show Notes:

Biology and Conservation of Wild Canids, edited by David W. Macdonald and Claudio Sillero-Zubiri. Raccoon dogs: Finnish and Japanese raccoon dogs - on the road to speciation?” By Kaarina Kauhala and Midair Saeki, pgs 217-226. https://static1.squarespace.com

 

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

 

Transcript 

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Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

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Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… I’m Kiersten, your host, and this is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we’ll find right out side our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating. 

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

This is the first episode of a new series and I’m excited to introduce you to the tanuki, the Japanese raccoon dog. The first thing I like about this animal is its existence. 

So, what exactly is the tanuki? It’s called the raccoon dog, but it’s not really a raccoon or a dog. Nyctereutes procyonoides is not related to raccoons, but it is in the dog family. Tanuki are canids and they are most closely related to foxes, but continuing research on this topic may show that they are related only to themselves. We’ll have to wait a see what the future brings for the Tanuki family tree. For now they remain canids related to foxes.

Looking at them, you can completely understand why they got the name raccoon dog. They have a masked face just like a raccoon, they are small and fluffy, like a cute dog. But they are not domesticated canids, they are a wild animal. 

They have dark facial markings that surround the eyes and taper down the cheeks, like a raccoon. Their fluffy coat is yellowish brown, and while they do have a long tail, it is not ringed like a raccoon, just a yellow-brown like the rest of its coat. It has short limbs covered in black or brown fur. They have a heavy body, small snout with a thin, delicate muzzle, and rounded ears.  

If this description is making you need to see this cutey for yourself, take a moment to search for an image of them online and be prepared to fall in love. If you’re driving while listening to this episode, please wait until you’ve reached your destination.

The tanuki is not a big animal. They are approximately 20-26 inches, or 50 to 65cm, in length. Their tail is 5 to 7 inches, or 13 to 18cm, long. They weigh around 17.5 pounds, or 7.5 kg. This is probably another reason they got the name raccoon dog, as this is the approximate size of an average raccoon.

There is no discernible size difference in males verse females, but there is a difference in sizes throughout subspecies.

Tanuki are indigenous to Japan, southeastern coastal Russia, and eastern coastal China. Indigenous means that they are native to these areas. Today they can also be found in areas of Europe where they were introduced for human uses. I’ll go more in depth with this topic in a future episode.

Raccoon dogs are largely nocturnal, but can be seen foraging at sundown and sunrise. They are generalists when it comes to their diet and are classified as omnivores. Omnivores are animals that eat both proteins, such as meat, and vegetation. Depending on where they live, their diets vary slightly. In their native ranges they tend to be more frugivorous, that’s eating fruits, and vegetarian; while, in their introduced range they tend to be more carnivorous. 

Raccoon Dogs are incredibly adaptable, much like the North American animal that shares their name, and can be found in various habitats. They do tend to favor scrubby forest areas where they can easily disappear in low growing plants and food resources are plentiful. In Japan they have adapted to a more urban existence and due to the mythology of the raccoon dog in this country, they seem to be surviving. Don’t worry, I’m dedicating a whole episode to the mythology of the Tanuki.

I hope this first episode has you as excited about the raccoon dog as I am because my first favorite thing about them, is them!

If you're enjoying this podcast please recommend me to friends and family and take a moment to give me a rating on whatever platform your listening. It will help me reach more listeners and give the animals I talk about an even better chance at change. 

 

Join me next week for another fascinating episode about Tanuki.    

 

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.