What is a raccoon dog? : NPR

A raccoon dog emerges from its cage at a live animal market in China, January 2004. Raccoon dogs may have been the original hosts of the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic.

Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images

hide caption

toggle caption

Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images

A raccoon dog emerges from its cage at a live animal market in China, January 2004. Raccoon dogs may have been the original hosts of the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic.

Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images

The World Health Organization is urging Chinese authorities to release data that may show a link between raccoon dogs and the coronavirus. What exactly is a raccoon dog?

First, this is why we are talking about them. They were sold at a seafood and meat market in Wuhan, China, where researchers found evidence of the coronavirus in January 2020. It appeared in the same swabs as the virus that causes COVID, suggesting that animals may have been its initial hosts.

So what are they?

Simply put, it’s a stray dog ​​with a raccoon-like face. To put it a little more scientifically, the raccoon dog is a member of the canidae family with a fur pattern and head shape similar to that of a raccoon.

This omnivorous animal is native to East Asia, including China, Korea, and parts of Japan. Breeding from the fur industry introduced thousands throughout the former Soviet Union and is now a widespread invasive species throughout northern and western Europe.

They prefer to live in forests, dense vegetation, and areas adjacent to water.

They are more closely related to foxes than to domesticated dogs. Tanuki are a completely different species from the Coonhound, a domesticated breed of Scenthound, also known as the Coondog.

Are they related to other diseases?

yes. Raccoon dogs and related mammals sold for food in China’s live animal market in 2003 were found to carry coronaviruses similar to those seen in humans during the SARS coronavirus outbreak at the time. In 2004, Chinese health officials ordered 10,000 animals, including raccoon dogs, to be sold on the market after they tested positive for a new strain of the SARS virus, sparking fears of another epidemic.

A 2022 study sampled nearly 2,000 animals of 18 species from various settings in China, including natural habitats, zoos and fur farms. They found that wild animals known to be eaten by humans, including raccoon dogs, carry 102 different viruses from 13 virus families.

Twenty-one of them pose a high risk to humans because they have previously infected humans or have easily crossed between species, researchers say.

Raccoon dogs specifically harbored four canine coronaviruses that are genetically similar to those found in humans. They also carried enteric viruses, that is, viruses that are transmitted when infected faeces enter the mouth or nose.

Researchers said the evidence supports the dangers of live markets like Wuhan.

“It’s hard to think of a more effective way to ignite and fan the flames of an epidemic,” evolutionary biologist and study co-author Edward Holmes told the Journal. chemistry“We continue to allow these things to thrive and it is only a matter of time before we have another outbreak and perhaps another pandemic.”

Still, they are so cute! can i keep it?

no.

A raccoon dog is a wild animal, not a domesticated pet. According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, because they live in large home ranges, they need a lot of space and are difficult to manage in enclosures or other small spaces.

They also use smell to communicate, so they have strong odors and are not indoor house guests.

Also, if raccoon dogs escape or are released into the wild, they can threaten the world’s wildlife outside of their habitat.