Raccoon Dog

www.lioncrusher.com/animal.asp?animal=25

Nyctereutes Procyonoides

Bull poop.

BBC Factoid on Raccoon Dogs

www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/156.shtml

Animal Diversity Web Article animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Nyctereutes_procyonoides.html

The white ones are cute but the rest look like freaks.

Dogs and racoons can breed now?

No, dogs CANNOT mate with racoons.  The racoon dog is another species.

there is no way that came from the offspring of a dog and racoon. Unless that thing was made in a lab at the The Island of Dr. Moreau, it is total bullshit.


I would have to say that its a subspecies of the same family. Just the Asia/Euro version of the good old North American raccon. They fill the same niche

I want a white one.

I bet my dog would love some of that coon poon.

Do their personalitites lean toward the dog or coon or a combo of both?

from: www.dogluvers.com/dog_breeds/Raccoon_Dog

Raccoon Dog

The Raccoon Dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) is a member of the canid family and is considered to be a species of dog although it is 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 ft) and weight ranges from 4 to 10 kg (9 to 22 lb). 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; generally hiding or screaming rather than fighting. They are monogamous; some fights occur between males for the females.

Contents [showhide]  
1 Tanuki

1.1 The Japanese term "tanuki"
1.2 Tanukis in folklore
1.3 Gold association
1.4 Tanuki today



Tanuki
In Japanese standard dialect, the Raccoon Dog is known as tanuki. Tanuki are commonly seen near villages in rural areas. They are wild animals that have been part of Japanese myth since ancient times. The mythical tanuki is reputed to be mischievous and jolly, a master of disguise and shapeshifting, but somewhat gullible and absent-minded.

The Japanese term "tanuki"
While tanukis are prominent in Japanese folklore and proverbs, they were not always properly distinguished between other animals. In local dialects, tanuki and mujina (貉) refer either to a Raccoon Dog, a badger, or a relative of the badger. What is known as tanuki in one region is known as mujina in another region. In today's Tokyo standard dialect, tanuki refers to Raccoon Dogs and anaguma refers to badgers. There are such local dishes known as tanuki-jiru, or "tanuki soup," which either uses Raccoon Dog or badger meat, the latter being more renowned for its taste.

The characters for tanuki, 狸 and 貍, can be used interchangeably without change of meaning, while the former is currently more common. Originally, the characters were used to refer to mid-sized mammals, mostly Wild Cats. Since Wild Cats live in only very limited regions in Japan (e.g. Iriomote, Okinawa ), it is believed that the characters began to be used for "tanuki" instead starting around the Middle Ages. Historically, this has been a source of confusion and misleading translations between the two languages.

In modern Chinese, character 狸, which uses the feline radical, is considered the modern form. It is not used as a word by itself but appears in fox (狐貍, húlí) and civet (香貍, xiānglí). The character 貍 uses the clawed beast radical, and its usage is archaic.

Tanukis in folklore
The current humorous image of tanuki is thought to have been developed during the early modern period and onwards. During the Edo era, its stomach and testicles became huge to the point that the stomach started to double as a drum. However during the Kamakura era and Muromachi eras, some stories began to include man-eating tanuki, and the image became that of a scarier monster. The otogizōshi story of "Kachi-kachi Yama " features a tanuki that clubs an old lady to death and serves her to her unknowing husband as "old lady soup".

Other stories report tanuki as being harmless and productive members of society. Several shrines have stories of past priests who were tanukis in disguise. Shapeshifting tanuki are sometimes believed to be a transformation of the souls of household goods that were used for one hundred years or more.

A popular tale known as Bunbuku chagama 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.

Gold association
In metal sculpturing, tanuki skin were often used for thinning gold. As a result, tanuki sculptures were marketed as front yard decoration and good luck charm for bringing in prosperity [kin (gold) + tama (ball) = kintama (testicles), hence the large testicles]. Tanuki became associated with metal mines and metal craftwork.

Tanuki today
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 nature, the tanuki faces problems similar to those which other wild animals also face. Its population has declined in recent years due to hunting, growth of urban areas, an increase of animals associated with human civilization such as pets and abandoned animals, and diseases that may be transmitted between them.

Quoted: I want a white one.

a few of those strung together would make a nice boa for the wife

Some Pictures of Wild Raccoon Dogs in Siberia





Edited to Add additional Photos - Not sure where the photos below were taken

A Dog and Badger would make a mean breed

Now if a pitbull a raccon, a pocupine and badger had a foursome............

Just thought you guys would enjoy a new kind of Critter.

Now..if only they could bring back the Tasmanian Tiger...also known as the Tasmanian Wolf



Thylacine

Quoted:

creepy

Quoted: No, dogs CANNOT mate with racoons.

They can't?
(sorry for the Beagle of the Day)

Can't believe I missed this!

A better quality pic.  

In Super Mario Bros 3, there's a Tanooki suit you can wear.

looks like a cool little dude.  

I dun know bout no coon hound! alls i knows is i ams a 'poon hound' Does-en that count? yeehaw!

Quoted: Quoted: No, dogs CANNOT mate with racoons. They can't? (sorry for the Beagle of the Day) www.teammcafee.com/images/worsthuntingdog.jpg

Someone has been watching TOO MUCH Southpark.  (mating an elephant to a pig)

Quoted: In Super Mario Bros 3, there's a Tanooki suit you can wear.

LoL yeah when I saw this thread I remembered that.

Quoted: Just thought you guys would enjoy a new kind of Critter. Now..if only they could bring back the Tasmanian Tiger...also known as the Tasmanian Wolf rds.yahoo.com/S=96062883/K=Tasmanian+Tiger/v=2/SID=w/TID=I052_84/l=IVI/SIG=12b9j83m7/EXP=1124259676/*-http%3A//en.wikipedia.org/upload/d/db/Tasmanian_tiger.gif Thylacine

I remember reading something about some scientists trying to make a clone of one using DNA from some dead preserved one.

It would be really cool if someday they could recreate the species.

Quoted: No, dogs CANNOT mate with racoons.  The racoon dog is another species.

Yep, they have different numbers of chromosomes.  This is why breading will not work between a human and a horse, or any other animal without the same chromosomal, genetic makeup.

Quoted: Quoted: No, dogs CANNOT mate with racoons.  The racoon dog is another species. Yep, they have different numbers of chromosomes.  This is why breading will not work between a human and a horse, or any other animal without the same chromosomal, genetic makeup.

There are more barriers than that. It's not just simple genetics. That's why some genetically species can't breed. Most cross-species mating doesn't even reach the genetic barrier.

Not everything can be explained simply by genetics and the genetic barrier is the LAST barrier.

Quoted: Quoted: No, dogs CANNOT mate with racoons. They can't? (sorry for the Beagle of the Day)

Hmmmm...That Dog Don't Hunt