Tama Zoo held its first "Summer Night @Tama Zoo" in three years in August 2022 (extended opening hours).

Except for the first day, which was canceled due to the influence of the typhoon, the summer night, which was held for a total of five days, was open until 8 p.m. Lanterns were placed on the side of the road for guidance, and the participants seemed to fully enjoy the atmosphere of the zoo at night, which is a little different from usual.

In this article, we will introduce a night of Raccoon Dog, not "Summer Night on Raccoon Dog Mountain".

Currently, there are a total of 4 Raccoon Dog on Raccoon Dog mountain in Tama Zoo, with a total of 2 males and 2 females. Usually, customers say, "Huh Raccoon Dog? Raccoon Dog is a nocturnal animal. During the day, they often sleep in hiding and are often found in trees, grass, or in hives so they may not be seen. You can only see it moving when defecating or feeding. It starts to move actively after the evening, and depending on the season, it starts to move around 6:30 p.m. after the park closes.


Raccoon Dog at night, photographed with a sensor camera.
Summer Night offers a rare opportunity to see the usually inactive Raccoon Dog of Tama in action!

Normally, the park closes after 6:30 PM, as dusk falls and the crows that usually steal the food head back to the mountains... we turn on the lights in the enclosure and scatter the food. We usually place the food in a feeder to prevent the crows from taking it, but on Summer Night, we can scatter it throughout the enclosure when the crows have left.

The photo below shows Raccoon Dog moving in search of food. They are pushing aside the grass to look for something to eat.


Raccoon Dog become active in the evening
The staff are pleased when they hear excited voices from visitors saying, "Oh! There's something there! It's moving! There's Raccoon Dog!" The raccoon dogs sometimes go into the food boxes, so there are also chances to see them clearly. Raccoon Dog are usually very wary and difficult to spot, but this is a sight that can only be seen at the zoo at night.

Even outside of summer nights, you can sometimes spot Raccoon Dog if you look carefully. When searching for Raccoon Dog during the day, pay attention to the trees. They are often found on the large persimmon tree on the left side of the enclosure or on the boxwood tree in the middle. Occasionally, you can also find them on the Eurya japonica tree on the right. However, on hot or rainy days, they may be hidden in the bushes or inside their nest boxes and not visible.

People often pass by this exhibit saying, "There aren't Raccoon Dog here," but one of the joys of this exhibit is diligently searching for Raccoon Dog in the nature-rich environment. Please come and see Raccoon Dog during the daytime as well.


A place you often see inside the exhibition hall

[Video] Summer Night at Raccoon Dog Mountain (with sound)
[Tama Zoo Tama Zoological Park]
(September 29, 2022)