Tanuki: The Dog That Thinks It’s A Raccoon

This fluffy bandit strikes terror in the  hearts of every small creature it meets. It's a tireless hunter whose belly  is a hunger-fuelled bottomless pit   and whose domain is constantly expanding. Or is it an adorable magical creature  who has charmed the hearts of millions? This cutie has many faces, and they're all masked. This is the raccoon dog. Hi, I'm Danielle Dufault and  you're watching Animalogic. Today we're talking about one of the cutest  and fluffiest animals I've ever seen. They're also kind of the black sheep of their  family, but it's really not their fault. Raccoon dogs are canids and are  distantly related to dogs and wolves,   though they're more closely related to foxes. They're the only members of the nycterectus genus,  but within the genus their taxonomy is a mess. They're found natively in Japan  and continental east Asia. Some scientists believe that  the Japanese raccoon dog,   also known as tanuki, is its own species,  while others say it's just a subspecies. Others yet again, say that only  some of the Japanese raccoon   dogs are different enough to be  considered a separate species. Of course that doesn't really matter much  to them, all they really care about is food. And who can blame them? These hungry, hungry creepos have  the most varied diet of all canids. They pretty much will eat anything,  from roots to fish to birds. They have a more well-balanced diet than me. And as a type-1 diabetic, I do pretty good. Rodents such as gerbils and voles are  commonly taken throughout their range. In swampy areas they eat  turtles and poisonous frogs,   and protect themselves from the toxins by  producing extra saliva to dilute the toxins. Yep, they drool themselves  into being immune to poison. During the winter, they're able to supplement  their diet with carrion and, weirdly, feces. Has it always got to be feces? This very diet might give  them a bit of bad breath,   but it helps them survive the cold winter months. Though they have more survival skills  than just having a black hole for a mouth. These ninja-like cuties are masters of stealth. Raccoon dogs are night time specialists. Despite their abundance, they're  most often seen after dusk. This protects the young from diurnal  predators such as eagles and humans. Their eyes are well adapted  to low light conditions,   and their iconic black markings around  their eyes help them reduce glare. This means that they're less likely to  be blinded by bright sources of light. It's a tried-and-true technique  that even soldiers and athletes use. And most importantly, it makes  them look like furry doggy bandits. Their resemblance to trash pandas is a  classic case of convergent evolution. These two nocturnal omnivorous mammals developed  similar traits based on similar habits and needs. Like raccoons, who survive the frigid  North American winters, raccoon dogs   have a dense winter fur that protects them from  the temperatures as low as -25 degrees celsius. But unlike their North American look-alikes,  raccoon dogs hibernate to survive the lean months. They're the only canids to do so,  and, like other hibernating animals,   they rely on fat reserves to  take them through the winter. Raccoon dogs will go into hibernation  weighing about seven kilograms   and come out weighing just half of that. Those who don't get fat enough  are unlikely to survive the winter   in the cold parts of their range, like in Siberia. So don't be too harsh on them for wanting  to eat the world during the warmer months. They need to get as big as  a pug by the end of fall. Wait, that's it? They're tiny but they look much  bigger because of their fur. Of course, they'll only  hibernate when they need to   and those in the southern part of their  range don't need to hibernate as long. These wintering adaptations  have caught the eye of humans,   who see in their fur, a marketable product. They have been hunted throughout  history to make coats and hats. Things took a turn in the early  20th century when Russian trappers   brought them to fur farms in the  western part of their country   to make it easier to get furs without having  to import them from thousands of miles away. This was, what we call in the  business, a pretty bad move. As we all know these fluffy boys  are gluttons and are capable of   wiping out native species in just a few years. And that's exactly what happened. Some of those raccoon doggies escaped their  fur farms and started breeding in the wild. Since then, they have become invasive  in Western Russia, the Baltic States,   Finland, parts of Sweden, and  throughout central and western Europe. They've been observed as far south as  the French-Spanish border and the UK   considers them a species likely to  become invasive in the near future. Of course, they're only trying to survive and it's  not their fault that they were taken from their   native range, but they also pose a huge threat to  local bird, amphibian, and reptile populations. Because of this, local governments  are actively trying to cull them. But these guys are almost ghosts and are nearly   impossible to catch without  the help of hunting dogs. You'd think that since they live in the same areas  as bears, tigers, and Amur leopards that they'd   be considered easy prey, but they're probably  too small to be considered worth the hassle. The real bane of their existence is the wolf. In Eastern Russia over half of all  raccoon dogs are killed by wolves. Other canids, such as foxes  and feral dogs often take pups. And for trappers,   their success rate increases from 10 percent  to 50 percent when employing hunting dogs. It truly is a dog-eat-dog world. Back in Japan, tanukis have a much better  reputation and are the subjects of legends. In local folklore, Japanese raccoon dogs have  been said to possess supernatural powers,   such as shapeshifting and the  ability to possess people. These superpowers have been used  in media such as Super Mario Bros,   where you can get tanuki powers to fly. The source of their power is  thought to be their giant scrotums,   which are prominently displayed in tanuki art. So, it wasn't that Mario was fat, he was just  hiding his giant source of power in his pants. Here at Animalogic we leave no stone unturned,  so we looked into it and it turns out that the   tanukis stones aren't nearly as big as  the folk art might lead you to believe. But keep on thriving, you magical creatures. Try not to destroy Europe while doing so. So what should we talk about next? Please let me know in the comments and be  sure to subscribe for new episodes every week. Thanks for watching, see ya.

Channel: Animalogic

Views: 1,109,367

Keywords: animals, animal, logic, education, animalogic, crazy, ugly, weird, gross, beautiful, interesting, facts, about, information, info, school, research, learn, learning, smart, 4k, nature documentary, nature doc, floralogic, second nature, tanuki, japan, japanese, asian, asia, dog, canid, canine, raccoon, raccoon dog, asian raccoon dog, invasive, mario, super mario, tanuki art, art, folk art, raccoon or dog, tom nook, animal crossing, hibernate, ninja, bandit, mask, masked, eyes, balls

Id: uCtM0tm1uZ4

Length: 8min 25sec (505 seconds)

Published: Fri Aug 06 2021