Japanese Raccoon Dog - Facts, Diet, Habitat & Pictures on Animalia.bio (2025)

Mammals

Japanese Raccoon Dog

Temperate

Habits and Lifestyle

Japanese raccoon dogs usually spend time in mated pairs but some individuals may stay in a group of until they find a mate. They are mainly nocturnal, but may also be active during daylight. Japanese raccoon dogs live on the ground but they can climb trees to forage for fruits and berries, using their curved claws that are adapted to climbing. Japanese raccoon dogs communicate by growling or with groans that have pitches resembling those of domesticated cats. Like cats, they arch their back when they are trying to intimidate other animals; however, Japanese raccoon dogs assume a defensive posture similar to that of other canids, lowering their bodies and showing their bellies to submit.

Diet and Nutrition

In general raccoon dogs are omnivores. They eat insects, rodents, amphibians, birds, fish, reptiles, human garbage, carrion, and eggs. They also eat fruits, nuts, and berries.

Japanese raccoon dogs are monogamous which means they form pairs. Their breeding period is synchronized between females and males and lasts between February and April. A female gives birth to a litter of 4-6 pups after a gestation period that lasts for 9 weeks. Both parents look after their pups in a den for around a month, and then for another month after the pups leave the den.