Raccoon dogs in the US

Davdhole

Davdhole

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
Recently, Zoo Atlanta's last "tanuki", Loki passed away, which I just found out his brother Thor passed this January. This unfortunate news reminded me of another time I posted about them on here a while ago, and I called them tanuki because that's what the zoo has always called them. However, someone said these were just raccoon dogs, not Japanese subspecies. I don't know if there are other raccoon dog subspecies, so I just assumed tanuki were the one and that's why Zoo ATL always called them that. So could someone who may have more background on the late raccoon dogs and the ones in OKC tell me what they really are, and why the tanuki subspecies isn't in the US if this is true? Also any additional info on these canids in zoos will be appreciated.
 
I dont know anything about this species in the USA.

However, as you stated that you would like "any info on these canids in zoos" and presumably in North America I will mention that there are Japanese racoon dogs kept in Chapultepec zoo, Mexico.
 
I don't know too well but to my knowledge the OKC stock may be hybrid/fur farm animals. They resemble the mainland subspecies.
 
Davdhole said:
Recently, Zoo Atlanta's last "tanuki", Loki passed away, which I just found out his brother Thor passed this January. This unfortunate news reminded me of another time I posted about them on here a while ago, and I called them tanuki because that's what the zoo has always called them. However, someone said these were just raccoon dogs, not Japanese subspecies. I don't know if there are other raccoon dog subspecies, so I just assumed tanuki were the one and that's why Zoo ATL always called them that. So could someone who may have more background on the late raccoon dogs and the ones in OKC tell me what they really are, and why the tanuki subspecies isn't in the US if this is true? Also any additional info on these canids in zoos will be appreciated.
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It's been brought up on here before, and I believe none in the USA were the japanese subspecies.

So Atlanta no longer has the species at all?
 
Are the species gone from the US now? If so, that would be quite a shame, I wished I stopped by Zoo Atlanta despite the horrendous park map...
 
TinoPup said:
It's been brought up on here before, and I believe none in the USA were the japanese subspecies.

So Atlanta no longer has the species at all?
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Correct, no raccoon dog at Zoo Atlanta. I believe that the zoo chose the name tanuki as it wasa bit more interesting than raccoon dog as a name! The Atlanta animals came from Europe, I think born in Italy
 
Neil chace said:
What do you think is the chance of seeing more Raccoon dogs in the US?
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Probably not anything to hold your breath about. Given the species was never very common in US zoos I find it pretty unlikely there will be more. Particuarly as Raccoon Dog is listed as injurius wildlife by the USFWS, and thus any appearing would be either confiscated or a very very lucky zoo import. The latter option i find highly unlikely since interest has always been low, not worth the effort.
 
I would say very unlikely, for the reasons Great Argus mentioned. That being said, dhole are also listed as injurious, but have become more common in recent years.

Import-wise, nothing is impossible. It just depends on how interested a zoo is and how big of an ulcer their registrar is willing to sustain doing the paperwork.
 
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Aardwolf said:
That being said, dhole are also listed as injurious, but have become more common in recent years
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Yes, but a couple places have been breeding Dhole reasonably well. Their expansion is breeding rather than imports, unlike Raccoon dog.
 
Great Argus said:
Yes, but a couple places have been breeding Dhole reasonably well. Their expansion is breeding rather than imports, unlike Raccoon dog.
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True, but I think there was a dhole import more recently than a raccoon dog one. Also, there are talks about importing more dholes to boost genetic diversity, so the permits don’t seem to be deal breakers
 
Aardwolf said:
True, but I think there was a dhole import more recently than a raccoon dog one. Also, there are talks about importing more dholes to boost genetic diversity, so the permits don’t seem to be deal breakers
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Raccoon Dogs aren't covered by CITES, but for Dhole there were recorded zoo imports to the USA in 2011 (7 animals from four countries), 2008 (3), 2007 (5), 2000 (6), 1989 (2), 1988 (1), 1981 (2), and 1979 (2).
 
As mentioned before, the Oklahoma City Zoo has four Raccoon Dogs - two pairs. These animals are captive-bred and were imported from a European Zoo (I believe from Sweden, but not 100% positive) in 2018. Three of the Raccoon Dogs are "wild type" and have normal pelage, while the fourth one is all white (leucistic and not albino). I don't believe they are attempting to breed these animals as there is no AZA management plan and they may be the only ones currently in the U.S. because of the USDA-APHIS and USFWS restrictions on injurious wildlife mentioned by others.
 
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