On the prowl for raccoon dogs
Print Edition
THE raccoon dog, an animal native to East Asia and the last surviving member of the Nyctereutes genus, isn’t a species many would expect to see in Shanghai.
A group of these elusive critters has taken up residency in the Shanghai Zoo, where they lay low during the day and come out at night after all the visitors have cleared out.
Led by guides from the Shanghai Wildlife Conservation Management Station, I and several colleagues embarked on a night-time safari last Saturday to glimpse these wild new residents for ourselves.
With flashlights in hand, our team was lucky enough to spot a raccoon dog within only a few minutes of setting out. Its eyes shone in the dark, having caught the beams of our lights. Known for its agility and watchful nature, the animal quickly disappeared into the bushes.
For another two and a half hours, we circled the zoo, looking to find more of the animal’s companions. Many of the shining eyes we subsequently saw though belonged to stray cats and other more mundane animals.
When we got to the zoo’s zebra hill, we spotted another raccoon dog. Because we were farther away this time, this one didn’t run off immediately. Instead it looked back and studied us for about a minute.
By the end of the evening, we had spotted four raccoon dogs. Along the way, we saw two pandas in deep sleep, a curious leopard and flocks of egrets resting in the trees by a pond.
While the raccoon dog resembles the common raccoon in many outward respects, it is a member of the Canidae family, which includes the fox, the wolf and other species of dog.
Over the years, the raccoon dog population around the world has seen a significant decline thanks to growing demand for its fur as well as human encroachment.
Raccoon dogs are omnivores. They eat insects, rats, amphibians, reptiles, molluscs, birds and even small mammals like hares. They eat fruits, grain and vegetables as well.
The species hibernates during the winter, although the group in the Shanghai Zoo might not necessarily do so because of the relatively warm weather and abundance of food.
The raccoon dog’s mating season starts in February, in time for new pups to arrive in early summer.
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