The (Japanese) raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) is a predator from East Asia. It's a dog like, as big as a fox, but lower, with shorter legs.
In the 30s there escaped a number from fur farms in Eastern Europe. In the fifties, they were plotted as a hunting animal in Western Russia. In parts of Germany they spread rapidly. In 2000, the first was found in the Netherlands with certainty. The first sighting in Belgium dates back to 2010.
It gets its name from its resemblance to the ordinary raccoon. But he is bigger and has shorter ears.
An adult animal is 50 to 55 cm with a tail of 15 cm. The coat has a yellowish brown ground color. The head is black with white, with a black mask around the eyes. The legs and a part of the tail are dark. In the winter he gets a thicker coat.
This nocturnal animal is an omnivore opportunist who eats both animal and vegetable food: rodents, amphibians, lizards, fish, insects, birds, fruits, nuts and tubers, garbage and carrion.
The raccoon dog is not active in the winter, but his body temperature is not falling. In cold areas, he was believed to hibernate. It is the only canine of which this behavior is known.
Raccoon dogs live in a cave monogamous, usually in a badger burrow, sometimes along with badgers.