The raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) is a canid indigenous to East Asia and Japan while introduced population live in Eastern Europe.
In Japan, they have a folkloric significance and are often popular as statues. Males are depicted as having large balls.
They are not related to either badgers or raccoons, both of which they are often mistaken for by the West. Their closest living relatives are in fact the Vulpes genus, or true foxes, which tanuki are considered to be rivals of in Japanese folklore.
Please note: The most well-known variety, the Japanese raccoon dog (tanuki), is one of several subspecies of raccoon dog and is not synonymous with the species as a whole.
