Japan: Raccoons feel right at home

The population of the animals in Japan has virtually exploded, reported the daily newspaper «Asahi Shimbun».

In ten years, the raccoons — originally brought to the country from America as pets — had tripled their range. The animals are now found in 44 of the island nation's 47 provinces, nine more than a decade ago.

Raccoons thrive in a wide variety of habitats, reproduce quickly, and are not particularly selective about food. They also have no natural predators. Japan has therefore banned the import, sale, and keeping of the animals as pets.

A beloved pet thanks to a cartoon

Raccoons were initially well received in Japan. The popular animated series «Araiguma Rasukaru» (Rascal the Raccoon), which was a hit in the 1970s, sparked a veritable raccoon boom at the time. Many Japanese brought the cute animals into the country as pets.

But the raccoons, now gone wild, have multiplied so much over the years that they have become a genuine pest. The government in Tokyo declared them an invasive species around 10 years ago.

Grieving in animals

These images are currently generating a great deal of empathy online. They show a raccoon mourning its dead companion. According to behavioral researchers, the concept of death is well understood by many animals.

For decades, researchers have been studying the grieving processes of animals. When a member of their species dies, mammals are often distressed and unhappy, sometimes refusing to eat for days, keeping the deceased company, or even returning to the bones — as elephants, for example, are known to do. Dutch primatologist and behavioral researcher Frans de Waal has said that the grieving process in mammals can last for years.

Everything we learn about the emotional lives of animals helps — because it makes animals more complex, more relatable, and more compelling to many people. This knowledge contributes to us viewing and treating animals differently. More on Wildlife.