Japanese raccoon dog

Species of mammal

The Japanese raccoon dog ( Nyctereutes viverrinus ), [ 1 ] besides known as the tanuki ( japanese : 狸, たぬき, pronounced [ taꜜnɯki ] ), is a species of canine endemic to Japan. It is one of two species in the genus Nyctereutes, alongside the common raccoon frank ( N. procyonoides ), of which it was once thought to be a subspecies. [ 2 ] The japanese raccoon frump has a relatively smaller stomach and shorter fur of lesser insulation value than mainland raccoon dogs. [ 3 ] A rare, white color character can besides be found. [ 4 ]

Reading: Japanese raccoon dog – Wikipedia

Within japanese folklore, the tanuki have had a meaning function since ancient times. The fabled tanuki are reputed to be mischievous and reasonably, masters of disguise and shapeshifting but slightly fleeceable and absentminded. The animals have besides been common in japanese art, particularly as subjects for statues .

japanese etymology [edit ]

While tanuki are big in japanese folklore and proverbs, they were not always clearly distinguished from early animals with a like appearance. In local dialects, tanuki and mujina ( 狢, kyujitai : 貉 ) can refer to raccoon dogs or the japanese tease. An animal known as tanuki in one region may be known as mujina in another region. In the mod Tokyo standard dialect, tanuki refers to raccoon dogs and anaguma refers to badgers. Tanuki is often mistakenly translated into English as “ badger “ or “ raccoon “ ( as used in the English translation of the film Pom Poko and outlined in Tom Robbins ‘ book Villa Incognito ), two unrelated types of animals with superficially exchangeable appearances. traditionally, unlike areas of Japan had different names for raccoon dogs as animals, which would be used to denote different animals in other parts of the state, including badgers and wild cats ; however, the official word in the standard Tokyo dialect is now tanuki, a term that besides carries the folkloric meaning. The north american raccoon ( Procyon lotor ) is translated as araiguma ( アライグマ, 洗熊 ) in japanese, while wisconsinite is translated as anaguma ( 穴熊, illuminated. hole bear ) or as mujina ( 貉, 狢 ) .

behavior [edit ]

The japanese raccoon dog is chiefly nocturnal, but they are known to be active during day. They vocalize by growling or with groans that have pitches resembling those of domesticate cats. Like cats, the japanese raccoon frump arches its back when it is trying to intimidate other animals ; however, they assume a defensive position like to that of other canids, lowering their bodies and showing their bellies to submit. normally social groups are limited to a breeding pair, but individual japanese raccoon dogs may stay in a group of non-paired individuals until they find a mate. [ 5 ] The species is predominantly monogamous. The breeding time period for the species is synchronized between females and males and lasts between February and April. A litter ( typically with 4–6 pups ) is born after a gestation period of 9 weeks. The parents look after their pups at a hideout for around a month, and then for another month after the pups leave the lair. japanese raccoon dogs live for 7–8 years in the fantastic, and have reached the age of 13 in captivity. [ 5 ] They have been observed to climb trees to forage for fruits and berries, [ 6 ] [ 7 ] using their curved claws to climb. [ 8 ]

taxonomy [edit ]

japanese raccoon dogs at Fukuyama, Hiroshima ( video recording ) several raccoon dogs at Tobu Zoo in Saitama prefecture The japanese raccoon dog is sometimes classified as its own clear-cut species due to alone chromosomal, behavioral, and morphologic characteristics absent in mainland raccoon dogs. [ 9 ] Researchers [ 10 ] have suggested that they be considered a disjoined species, N. viverrinus, or that raccoon dogs of Japan could be further divisible into discriminate subspecies as N. p. procyonoides and N. p. albus, but both views were controversial. however, following geomorphologic and genetic analysis across multiple studies, all of which indicated that N. viverrinus was a clear-cut species, it was late classified as such by the american Society of Mammalogists. [ 2 ] [ 11 ] genic analysis has confirmed singular sequences of mtDNA, classifying the japanese raccoon pawl as a discrete isolation species, based on evidence of eight Robertsonian translocations. The International Union for Conservation of Nature Canid Group ‘s Canid Biology and Conservation Conference in September 2001 rejected the categorization of the japanese raccoon chase as a separate species, but its condition is hush disputed, based on its elastic genome. [ 12 ] The karyotype of japanese raccoon dogs is different from that of the mainland raccoon dogs. [ 13 ] Though it is unknown whether mainland raccoon dogs and japanese raccoon dogs can produce fecund offspring, it is assumed that the chromosomal differences between them would have deleterious effects on the richness of the potential offspring and this would be indicative mood of speciation. [ 14 ] [ 12 ] [ 15 ] Aggregators on mammal taxonomy are inconsistent : Like the IUCN, Mammal Species of the World ( 2005 ) considers the japanese raccoon chase to be a subspecies, whereas the American Association of Mammologists include N. viverrinus as a valid species in their mammal Diversity Database. [ 16 ] [ 17 ] The raccoon dogs from Hokkaido are sometimes recognized as a different subspecies from the mainland tanuki as Nyctereutes procyonoides albus ( Hornaday, 1904 ) ( or N. viverrinus albus if recognized as a distinct species ). This taxonomic group is synonymized with N. p. viverrinus in Mammal Species of the World, [ 13 ] [ 16 ] but comparative morphometric analysis supports recognizing the Hokkaido population as a distinct subspecific whole. [ 13 ]

conservation [edit ]

The IUCN places the raccoon frump at “ least concern ” condition due to the animal ‘s broad distribution in Japan and abundant population, including as an introduce species throughout northeastern Europe. In many european countries, it is legal to hunt raccoon dogs, as they are considered a harmful and invasive species. [ 18 ] In Japan the species is hunted chiefly to prevent them from damaging crops ; however, their fur is desired for use in calligraphy brushes and was exported chiefly to the United States before the outbreak of World War II. The animal is a coarse victim of fomite accidents, with conservative estimates of up to 370,000 japanese raccoon dogs being killed by vehicles each class in Japan. [ 5 ]

In folklore and tradition [edit ]

waraji on its feet: This tanuki is displayed in a Buddhist temple in Japan, in the area of the folktale “Taxidermy of a Japanese raccoon dog, wearingon its feet: Thisis displayed in a Buddhist temple in Japan, in the area of the folktale ” Bunbuku Chagama “. The tanuki has a long history in japanese caption and folklore. Bake-danuki ( 化け狸 ) are a kind of tanuki yōkai ( supernatural beings ) found in the classics and in the folklore and legends of assorted places in Japan. Although the tanuki is a real, extant animal, the bake-danuki that appears in literature has always been depicted as a foreign, even supernatural animal. The earliest appearance of the bake-danuki in literature, in the chapter about Empress Suiko in the Nihon Shoki written during the Nara time period, there are such passages as “ in two months of spring, there are tanuki in the area of Mutsu ( 春二月陸奥有狢 ), [ 19 ] they turn into humans and sing songs ( 化人以歌 ) ”. [ 20 ] [ 21 ] [ 22 ] Bake-danuki subsequently appear in such classics as the Nihon Ryōiki [ 21 ] [ 23 ] [ 24 ] and the Uji Shūi Monogatari. [ 21 ] In some regions of Japan, bake-danuki are reputed to have abilities similar to those attributed to kitsune ( foxes ) : they can shapeshift into other things or people, [ 21 ] [ 24 ] and can possess homo beings. [ 21 ] [ 25 ] many legends of tanuki exist in the Sado Islands of Niigata Prefecture and in Shikoku, and among them, like the Danzaburou-danuki of Sado, the Kinchō-tanuki and Rokuemon-tanuki of Awa Province ( Tokushima Prefecture ), and the Yashima no Hage-tanuki of Kagawa Prefecture, the tanuki that possessed especial abilities were given names, and even became the subject of rituals. apart from these places, tanuki are treated with special regard in a few cases. [ 26 ]

In popular culture [edit ]

Tanuki ( or their folklore interpretation ) are a recurring subject in japanese popular polish. The first exposure of non-Japanese to tanuki normally comes through exported japanese media. however, they are frequently described as “ raccoons ” in translation or assumed as such if no species is given. [ 27 ] luminary appearances of tanuki in popular culture include :

See besides [edit ]

Notes [edit ]

References [edit ]

Ikeda, Yasaburō, ed. (1974). Nihon Minzokushi Taikei (
日本民俗誌大系

). 3. Kadokawa Shoten. ISBN 978-4-04-530303-6.
Sakurai, Tokutarō, ed. (1980). Minkan shinkō jiten (
民間信仰辞典

). Tōkyōdō Shuppan. ISBN 978-4-490-10137-9.
Katsumi, Tada (1990). Gensō sekai no jūnintachi (
幻想世界の住人たち

). Truth in fantasy. IV. Shinkigensha. ISBN 978-4-915146-44-2.
Nakamura, Teiri (1990). Tanuki to sono sekai (
狸とその世界

). Asahi sensho. Asahi Shinbunsha. ISBN 978-4-02-259500-3.
Hino, Iwao (2006). Dōbutsu yōkaitan (
動物妖怪譚

). 2. Chūō Kōron Shinsha. ISBN 978-4-12-204792-1.