Raccoon Dog
Discovered: Roughly 11,000 Years Ago In Japan
Location: East Asia (Sometimes Small Areas In Europe)
It is not hard to see how the Racoon Dog received its name. Yet we knew of the species likely as long as we knew about its namesake. In spite of the “dog” name it holds, the species is most closely related to true foxes. In fact, they have a lot of the same tendencies as many North American foxes. Due to how unique the species is in look, it became a popular species to utilize in the European fur trade. That is why so many ended up in Europe when they weren’t native to it.
That is also likely how it ended up with the “raccoon dog” name. People who had never seen this animal before finally did and assumed it was related to the raccoon. It is also roughly the same size as one too. Of course, its introduction to Europe made it an invasive species. One very unique thing about the species beyond its fur is that the raccoon dog is the only living canid that hybernates during the year. The raccoon dog truly is one of the most unique animals in the world today.