looduskalender.ee

 

 

The raccoon dog pair showed up to check the feeding ground at 1 o’clock at night but the boars had been peacefully eating for more than a couple of hours in the evening and there was not much more to be had from there. When snow had fallen in the meantime the raccoon pair dozed in their very intermittent winter sleep.  From October onwards the raccoon pair again move together and they spend the winter ”in each other’s arms”. In milder weather they stray about a little on their marked territory. Sometimes in midwinter they show up outside even in quite cold weather.

 

Towards winter raccoon dogs move somewhat clumsily. In summer the weight of adult animals was around 6 kilos, now, near winter, it has doubled and for some is even 13 kilos, due to the fat reserves. The thick and fluffy winter coat of the short-legged creatures adds to the comical look. The body length of adult animals can be up to three-quarters of a metre, the fluffy tail adds another quarter of a metre. Shoulder height is only some twenty centimetres, but the fluffy fur increases that too. The omnivores eat whatever comes within reach. Wolves kill raccoon dogs by the way but leave them uneaten as a rule …

 

Regular forest camera viewers surely remember that in the winter of 2012 raccoon dogs with radio transmitter collars moved in camera view. Karmen Süld and Harri Valdmann have prepared a study, also including the movements of these animals, „Kährikkoera ruumikasutus ja tema roll toiduahelates – The use of space of raccoon dogs and their role in the food chain” (in Estonian).

 

For those who would like to read the text for themselves (in Estonian): LINK