WEBVTT - How Do Tanuki Work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Bogelbaum here. In June of nineteen, a couple in

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<v Speaker 1>a small village in Nottinghamshire, Great Britain, woke at four

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<v Speaker 1>am to an eerie sound. They ventured out and discovered

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<v Speaker 1>an animal that had never seen before, hissing and attacking

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<v Speaker 1>a goat on their farm. After rescuing the goat, they

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<v Speaker 1>took a photo of the beast and promptly posted it online.

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<v Speaker 1>The animal was four legged and fluffy. It moved like

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<v Speaker 1>a dog, but had a face and markings like a raccoon.

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<v Speaker 1>It turns out their unwanted visitor was a tanuki, sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>called a raccoon dog. To learn more about these unusual critters,

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<v Speaker 1>we talked by an email to Jennifer Andrew, a member

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<v Speaker 1>of the carnivore team at Zoo Atlanta. She helps take

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<v Speaker 1>care of Zoo Atlanta's to Tanuki, Thor and Loki. Zoo

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<v Speaker 1>Atlanta is just one of two zoos in the United

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<v Speaker 1>States that houses tanuki. The other is the home a

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<v Speaker 1>City Zoo. Andrew explained Tanuki are dogs. Genetically and morphologically speaking,

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<v Speaker 1>they get the nickname raccoon dog. Primarily because of their

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<v Speaker 1>similar coloring and coat patterns. The only other true similarity

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<v Speaker 1>to raccoons is that they occupy the same niche as

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<v Speaker 1>raccoons do in nature, even though they live on different continents.

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<v Speaker 1>Tanuki range in size from about one point five to

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<v Speaker 1>two ft long that's about point four five to point

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<v Speaker 1>nine meters, with a tail adding another six inches or

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<v Speaker 1>one point five meters. They wait anywhere from eight to

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<v Speaker 1>twenty two pounds around three and a half to ten kilos.

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<v Speaker 1>Their fur can be golden gray to reddish brown, but

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<v Speaker 1>their shoulders, legs, and the tips of their tails are black,

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<v Speaker 1>and their facial markings are similar to a raccoons, including

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<v Speaker 1>the black mask around the eyes. They're originally from Eastern Asia,

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<v Speaker 1>including Japan, which is where the word tanuki comes from

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<v Speaker 1>and where the animal is a cultural icon. Images of

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<v Speaker 1>tanuki have appeared in everything from folklore and literature to

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<v Speaker 1>anime and advertising. The mythological versions, sometimes called bucket tanuki,

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<v Speaker 1>are spirit creatures, tricksters, and shape shifters that love gold,

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<v Speaker 1>and are often depicted with a big belly and a

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<v Speaker 1>particularly large scrotum. Many modern Japanese businesses display statues of

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<v Speaker 1>tanuki to represent prosperity and good luck. Tanuki, the animals,

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<v Speaker 1>not the spirits, were brought to northern and eastern Europe

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<v Speaker 1>due to fur farming back in the nineteen twenties. It's

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<v Speaker 1>believed some tanuki managed to escape and began to live

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<v Speaker 1>and breed in that region. The habitat they're most comfortable

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<v Speaker 1>living in would typically be described as forested, everything from

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<v Speaker 1>deciduous trees to evergreens, but they can live in urban

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<v Speaker 1>and coastal areas. They like living near water when they're

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<v Speaker 1>in the wild, Tanuki aren't too picky about meals. As foragers,

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<v Speaker 1>they'll eat anything from frogs, birds, and rats to berries

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<v Speaker 1>and carrion that is ved animals. Tanuki have also been

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<v Speaker 1>known to for rirging garbage cans or pick over road

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<v Speaker 1>kill in areas inhabited by humans. But zoo life is

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<v Speaker 1>a little different. Not only are tanuki given different food

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<v Speaker 1>to eat, including kibble, hard boiled eggs, veggies, and fish,

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<v Speaker 1>but because they're naturally foragers in a non foraging setting,

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<v Speaker 1>their caregivers look for ways to make feeding time a

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<v Speaker 1>little more challenging, Andrew said, but we like to scatter

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<v Speaker 1>their diet throughout their habitats to encourage natural foraging behaviors.

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<v Speaker 1>They also enjoy interacting with problem solving enrichment devices that

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<v Speaker 1>encourage behaviors such as biting, chewing, ripping or shredding, smelling, digging,

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<v Speaker 1>and dragging. Tanuki in the wild, especially those living in

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<v Speaker 1>climates with harsh winters, can enter a state called torpor.

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<v Speaker 1>During torpor, tanuki conserves energy by reducing their activity, and

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<v Speaker 1>thus can survive on little or no food for days

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<v Speaker 1>or weeks. Andrew said, if weather is mild, tanuki may

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<v Speaker 1>wake for short periods of time to forage, but otherwise

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<v Speaker 1>they're at ativity level is significantly less during torpor. Severity

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<v Speaker 1>of torpor behaviors is also dependent on how well the

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<v Speaker 1>tanuki faired during the fall when they entered hyperphasia. Hyperphasia

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<v Speaker 1>is when an animal's appetite increases in response to an

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<v Speaker 1>environmental or biological que In this case, tanuki enter hyperphasia

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<v Speaker 1>in the late summer or early fall. They consume more food,

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<v Speaker 1>gain weight, and grow their winter coats in preparation for

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<v Speaker 1>the winter ahead. Andrew says tanuki living in captivity also

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<v Speaker 1>go through torpor, but the activity level and dietary needs vary.

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<v Speaker 1>Depending on where they live and how harsh the weather is.

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<v Speaker 1>She added, we even see behavioral differences between individuals. Thor

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<v Speaker 1>always seems to undergo torpor more deeply than Loki, even

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<v Speaker 1>when winters are milder. Both Loki and Thor will usually

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<v Speaker 1>get up once a day during torpor to check their

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<v Speaker 1>territories and have a small bite to eat before returning

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<v Speaker 1>to their preferred resting location, which can change from day

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<v Speaker 1>to day. Andrew is quick to point out that tanuki

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<v Speaker 1>are wild animals and despite appearances, they aren't much like dogs.

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<v Speaker 1>She said, Tanuki eat a varying diet, including raw meat,

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<v Speaker 1>are naturally skittish, are very stinky, and have other needs

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<v Speaker 1>that generally can't be met in a human household. They're

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<v Speaker 1>also classified as an invasive species in the United States

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<v Speaker 1>and throughout the European Union, so it would be illegal

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<v Speaker 1>to keep one as a pet. However, she describes the

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<v Speaker 1>atlantis tanuki littermates and brothers thorin Loki as fun guys

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<v Speaker 1>to work with. She said they're mischievous and are interested

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<v Speaker 1>in interacting with their environment and enrichment opportunities. During the

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<v Speaker 1>majority of the year, they can also be interactive with

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<v Speaker 1>animal care team members. However, they mostly like us because

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<v Speaker 1>we bring them food. They do tolerate care team members

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<v Speaker 1>being in their territory. However, they do not attempt to

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<v Speaker 1>interact with us in ways that domestic dogs would, and

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<v Speaker 1>we respect that preference. As wild animals, they will approach

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<v Speaker 1>care team members for feedings, training sessions, or to inspect

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<v Speaker 1>our work in their territory, but otherwise as they choose

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<v Speaker 1>not to interact with us. Loki and Thor arrived at

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<v Speaker 1>Zoe Atlanta together and lived in the same habitat for

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<v Speaker 1>many years until recently, when they began giving behavioral signs

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<v Speaker 1>that they didn't enjoy each other's presence. They're now living

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<v Speaker 1>in separate habitats in the zoo. Andrew said this is

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<v Speaker 1>normal behavior for tanuki, as generally only male female pairs

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<v Speaker 1>stay together long term. Tanuki typically mate for life, forming

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<v Speaker 1>monogamous pairs that share in foraging and in the care

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<v Speaker 1>and feeding of their offspring, called pups together. The mating

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<v Speaker 1>season occurs in the spring. Gestation lasts about nine weeks.

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<v Speaker 1>The litter averages about six pups. Sadly, their lives in

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<v Speaker 1>the wild don't usually last long, just eight to ten years.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode was written by Patty Resmussen and produced by

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<v Speaker 1>Tyler Clang. For more on this and lots of other

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<v Speaker 1>curious topics, visit how stuff works dot com. Brain Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>is production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts my

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