Raccoon dog
Amazing fact
A raccoon dog can dive underwater to look for food.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
A raccoon dog can dive underwater to look for food.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Raccoon dog
- Scientific name
- Nyctereutes procyonoides
- Japanese name
- タヌキ
- Group
- Land mammals
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Carnivora
- Family
- Canidae
- Genus
- Nyctereutes
This page covers the raccoon dog as a species; those on Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu are classified as the subspecies Hondo-tanuki.
A member of the dog family, it lives in and around forests in East Asia, including Japan, the Korean Peninsula and China.
It is naturally nocturnal and often sleeps in holes or up in trees during the day. It sometimes scavenges in garbage near houses.
It has a habit, called tamefun in Japanese, of leaving its droppings at fixed spots outside its den.
How the Raccoon dog lives
It searches for food with its nose close to the ground. In lakes and rivers, it scoops prey from the water with its paws. In autumn it eats foods including fruit, berries and seeds.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebBasic data
- Size
- Head and body length: 50–60 cm
- Weight
- 4–6 kg
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)
- Diet
- Small mammals, frogs, fish, insects, and fruit
- Range
- Japan: Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu
Where the Raccoon dog has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- タヌキ
- 简体中文
- 貉
- 繁體中文
- 貉
- 한국어
- 너구리
- Español
- Tanuki
- Français
- Tanuki
- Deutsch
- Marderhund
- Português (Brasil)
- Cão-guaxinim
- Italiano
- Nittereute
- العربية
- كلب الراكون الشائع
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Tanuki biasa
- Tiếng Việt
- Lửng chó
- Русский
- Енотовидная собака
- Türkçe
- Rakun köpeği
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 多摩動物公園 — タヌキ（ホンドタヌキ）Checked: 2026-11-03
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Nyctereutes procyonoidesChecked: 2026-11-03
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeWhen you meet the Raccoon dog, look for this
- Look at the black fur around its eyes.
Animals do different things from day to day, so you may not always see this.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebEXHIBIT INFORMATION
Places that keep or show the Raccoon dog
Zoos, aquariums and other places whose official websites say they keep or show this animal.
Displays can change with the animals’ health and the seasons. Check each facility’s official website before you go.
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