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A raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) is a member of the canid family and is considered to be a species of dog although they are often confused with raccoons and badgers. It is the only species in its genus Nyctereutes. The animal is also known under the Japanese name tanuki, 狸.
Raccoon dogs are native to Japan, southeastern Siberia, and Manchuria but now range as far as Scandinavia and France. Average adult head and body length is about 65 cm (2 feet) and weight ranges from 4 to 10kg (9 to 22 lbs). Average litters consist of 5 pups. Longevity is 3-4 years in the wild and 11 years in captivity. They are found in both plains and mountainous regions and are especially common in woodlands.
Like other canines, they are omnivorous. However, their diets are atypically diverse, consisting of invertebrates, frogs, lizards, rodents and birds along with seeds and berries. Those living near the ocean will also eat crabs and scavenged marine life. In cold season they hibernate, having fattened themselves during the autumn, not unlike bears.
Raccoon dogs are secretive and not very aggressive; they would sooner hide or scream than fight. They are monogamous; some fights occur between males for the females.
Raccoon dogs are prominent in Japanese folklore. Tanuki are reputed to be mischievous and jolly, masters of disguise and shape-changing, but somewhat gullible and absent-minded. One popular tale is about a tanuki who fooled a monk by transforming into a tea-kettle. Another is about a tanuki who was fooling a hunter by disguising his arms as tree boughs, until he spread both arms at the same time and fell off the tree. Traditional belief is that to transform itself, a tanuki has to put a green leaf on its head.
Statues of tanuki disguised in human form can be found outside many Japanese temples and restaurants. The characteristics of these statues include a flat cone-shaped hat, a big protruding belly and two big drum-like testicles touching the ground. According to the legends, the inflated belly and testicles are used as drums to scare wayfarers with noise: this is called tanuki tsuzumi and is a popular theme in netsuke and other arts, but in the statues it also means a charm of plenty and fertility.
Tanuki appear in modern art forms as well. In Super Mario Bros. 3, Mario has the ability to change into a tanuki by using a power-up called the 'Tanooki Suit'. While wearing the Tanooki Suit, Mario gains the ability to turn into a statue. In Studio Ghibli's film Pom Poko the shapeshifting tanuki are fighting construction workers, who are destroying their habitat, with use of their illusion powers.
In Chinese language, the term li (狸 and 貍 pinyin li2) are used interchangeably, but the writing of the former uses the canine radical while the latter uses the feline radical. In modern Chinese usage, the term 狐貍 are used together to refer to the fox and the term 貍 is seldom used alone to refer a specific animal. The civet is called a xiang li (香貍).
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