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What is a raccoon dog? : NPR


A raccoon dog looks out of its cage at a live animal market in China in January 2004. The raccoon dog may have been the original host of the virus that causes the COVID-19 pandemic.

Peter Park / AFP via Getty Images


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Peter Park / AFP via Getty Images


A raccoon dog looks out of its cage at a live animal market in China in January 2004. The raccoon dog may have been the original host of the virus that causes the COVID-19 pandemic.

Peter Park / AFP via Getty Images

The World Health Organization is asking Chinese officials to release data that may suggest a link between raccoons and the coronavirus. That leaves many people wondering – what is a raccoon dog anyway?

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. The data was posted briefly and then deleted. removed from international database seems to show genetic material from raccoon dogs appeared in the same swab as the virus that causes COVID, implying that these animals may have been the original hosts.

OK, so what are they?

Simply put, they are a wild dog with a panda-like face. To put it a little more scientifically, raccoon dog is a member of the canid family with patches of fur and a head shape similar to that of a raccoon.

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

They prefer to live in forests and dense vegetation, as well as areas bordering water.

They are more closely related to foxes than domesticated dogs. Raccoon dog is a completely different species from houndis a domesticated hunting dog, also known as a poodle.

Are they related to other diseases?

Correct. Raccoon dogs and related mammals are sold for food at aa live animal market in China year 2003 was found to carry a coronavirus similar to that found in humans during the SARS coronavirus outbreak at the time. In the year 2004Chinese health officials have ordered the slaughter of 10,000 animals sold at the market, including raccoons, after a man tested positive for a new strain of SARS virus and raised concerns. about another outbreak.

A study in 2022 sampled about 2,000 animals of 18 different species from across facilities in China – including natural habitats, zoos and fur farms. It found that wild animals known to be carnivores of humans, including raccoons, carry 102 different viruses from 13 virus families.

The researchers say 21 of them pose a high risk to humans because they have infected people before or have a history of jumping between species easily.

Raccoon dogs in particular carry four canine coronaviruses that are genetically similar to those found in humans. They also carry enteric viruses, or viruses that are transmitted when infected feces enter the mouth or nose.

This evidence confirms the dangers of live markets like the one in Wuhan, the researchers say.

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

However, they are so cute! Can I keep one?

ARE NOT.

Raccoon dogs are wild animals, not domesticated pets. They live in large home ranges, which means they need a lot of space and are difficult to manage in a barn or other small space. according to the UK’s Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

They also have a strong odor because they use scent to communicate, making them unpleasant guests in the home.

And, if a raccoon dog escapes or is released into the wild, it can threaten native wildlife in parts of the world where it is not native.

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