Raccoon dog
Description
In appearance, the raccoon dog resembles the raccoon, but differs in particular in the divided face mask. The head length of adult animals is about 50 to 68 cm, plus a tail of 13 to 25 cm. With a shoulder height of 20 to 30 cm, the raccoon dog reaches a total height of 38 to 51 cm and a weight of between four and ten kg. The soft fur is beige-grey on the flanks and black-brown on the belly and back. Raccoon dogs undergo a seasonal coat change; the winter coat and the summer coat are similar in colour, but the winter coat is much thicker and heavier.
Habitat
The raccoon dog is a very shy and nocturnal inhabitant of forests and regions with a lot of undergrowth. It´s original range includes eastern Siberia, northeastern China, the Korean peninsula and Japan. In Europe, it is a newcomer (neozoon), which was originally released in order to exploit the raccoon dog fur economically.
In Austria, the first raccoon dog is reported to be spotted in 1954 in Karlstift in the municipality of Bad Großpertholz (Lower Austria). After further sightings, the first definite record was in 1983, when an animal was caught in a trap, also in the Waldviertel in Lower Austria. It has become firmly established above all in Lower and Upper Austria as well as in northern Burgenland. Evidence is increasing towards the Danube. In the mid-1990s, it was found that the distribution limit had shifted southwards. Since 2010, the distribution has been scientifically investigated. After the first raccoon dog was shot in Vorarlberg in 2014, Tyrol is the only province from which no records have been reported.
The text is a translation of an excerpt from Wikipedia (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marderhund). On wikipedia the text is available under a „Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike“ licence. Status: 27 August 2021
