Raccoon Stripes - the animal that easily captured the world

Raccoon strip is a frequent hero of videos on social networks, where this furry creature acts as a charming pet and amuses household members. But, it turned out, not everything is so cloudless, and the victorious procession of raccoons on the planet is increasingly compared with natural disaster.

Striped raccoon or American raccoon is a native of North America. In his homeland, it is distributed from the Isthmus of Panama to the southern regions of Canada. Raccoons prefer broad-leaved forests with ponds, and most often settle in empty hollows or abandoned burrows of other animals.

But the raccoon came to the Old World at the beginning of the 20th century and successfully settled in all places suitable for his residence. A raccoon is a synanthropic species, that is, living next to a person and often at his expense, like a muskrat or some city birds. Therefore, in the cities and suburbs of Europe, striped emigrants live much more than in the forests. They are widely distributed in France, the Netherlands, Germany, and in the Caucasus region of Russia. And in some cities in Germany, they are very annoying to the local population, introducing chaos and disorder into their measured life.

Due to its unique adaptive features, this animal easily develops new territories. Raccoons are very agile and quick-witted, and the dexterity of their small paws is comparable to that of human hands. Thanks to the surprisingly developed front limbs, raccoons can open any doors, windows, locks on tents, bags, cabinet doors and food packaging. Climbing into houses and apartments, a raccoon will always find something to profit from. After all, the second hallmark of raccoons is their omnivorousness. Unpretentiousness in food played a significant role in their rapid spread throughout the world. Thanks to their agility, raccoons are known as talented thieves. They are not averse to stealing not only food, but also everything that, in their opinion, can bring some benefit: car keys, a telephone, a TV remote control, a small woman’s handbag.

They feel great at night and are even able to run fast in the dark. They are guided by sharp night vision and vibrissa, special organs of touch. They swim perfectly and cleverly climb trees. Among other advantages, raccoons have one more rare talent for mammals: they can pretend to be dead in case of danger.

Having settled throughout Europe, the raccoons did not stop and captured the Japanese islands. After the popular animated series, which was shown on Japanese television in the 70s, its main character, the raccoon, first penetrated the hearts of the Japanese, and later in their apartments. The gullible inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun massively bred raccoons as pets. Over time, they migrated to the streets, and later spread to the wild, displacing some native species. When the country's government saw these cute creatures as a threat to the local fauna and imposed a ban on the import of these striped Americans, it was too late.

Once raccoons were brought to Europe for their valuable fur and breeding as hunting fur animals. After a century, it can be stated that the success of their acclimatization exceeded even the most daring expectations.