Is it one lost individual or are there more of them? That is a question that arises for ecologist Atze van der Goot after the discovery of a deceased raccoon dog in the Flevopark in East Amsterdam.
The raccoon dog was found early this week. “I thought it was quite a large specimen,” says the ecologist. “He was maybe about five kilos. On an individual level of that animal itself, I think, where does he come from, what is he doing here in the city? I think that’s cool.”
The dog-like predators originate from East Asia and were later kept in Russia. After that, some raccoon dogs entered Europe. There were some indications of the presence of raccoon dogs. For example, a raccoon dog was killed on the A1 near Diemen and a dog owner reported a conflict between her dog and an animal that was later seen as a possible raccoon dog.
However, according to Van der Goot, Amsterdam residents do not have to be afraid of the raccoon dogs, which are mainly active at night. “They are really shy by nature. People avoid them. And they also avoid dogs. They have poor eyesight. So it may be that if they are once attacked by a human or a dog, but they will always take the lead.”
It is not clear how the raccoon dog died. Additional wildlife cameras are now being installed to see if there are more raccoon dogs walking around. It is also being investigated whether their presence has consequences for meadow birds, for example, but it does not seem that way yet.