Nyctereutes procyonoides viverrinus

The Japanese raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides viverrinus), also known as tanuki (狸 or たぬき, ) in Japanese, is a subspecies of the Asian raccoon dog. Researchers have suggested that they be considered a separate species, N. viverrinus, or that raccoon dogs of Japan could be further divisible into separate subspecies as N. p. procyonoides (hondo-tanuki) and N. p. albus (ezo-tanuki), but both views are controversial. As the tanuki, the animal has been significant in Japanese folklore since ancient times. The legendary tanuki is reputed to be mischievous and jolly, a master of disguise and shapeshifting, but somewhat gullible and absentminded. It is also a common theme in Japanese art, especially statuary. 'Tanuki' (狸) is often mistakenly translated into English as 'badger' or 'raccoon' (as used in the US version of the movie Pom Poko and outlined in Tom Robbins' book Villa Incognito), two unrelated types of animals with superficially similar appearances. Traditionally, different areas of Japan had different names for raccoon dogs as animals, which would be used to denote different animals in other parts of the country, including badgers and wild cats; however, the official word in the standard Tokyo dialect is now 'tanuki', a term that also carries the folkloric significance. The 'real' raccoon is called araiguma (洗熊) in Japanese, and badger is anaguma (穴熊). The Japanese raccoon dog is mainly nocturnal, but they are known to be active during daylight. They vocalize by growling or with groans that have pitches resembling those of domesticated cats. Another similarity shared with cats is that the Japanese raccoon dog arches it back when it is trying to intimidate other animals; on the contrast,they assume a similar defensive posture to other canids with a lowered body and will show their bellies to submit. Usually 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. The species is predominately monogamous. The breeding 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 den for around a month, and then for another month after the pups leave the den.