EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Raccoon Dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides), Family Canidae
Handaohuza Breeding Center, Heilongjiang Provice, northeast China

Explanation:  No, these are not New World raccoons; they're not even in the same family.  These are raccoon dogs, commonly bred in the Far East.

We are in the seldom-visited Handhaohuza Breeding Center of Heilongjiang Province in remote northeast China.  This Center is used to breed raccoon dogs for sale to national and international markets.  
 

They have been hunted to near extinction in much of their native habitats in northern Asia and the Far East, for their fur, for food, and even for use in traditional medicine.  They are considered an endangered species in Japan and their meat is eaten in China.  They are expanding into central and northern Europe, where they were introduced for their fur, but the species is generally considered a nuisance there as it preys on more desirable small game animals and fish and its fur is of poor quality.  Elsewhere, the fur has been used for jackets, to decorate drums, and to make bellows.  

Use of breeding farms to propagate raccoon dogs has been a subject of much controversy.  

Raccoon dogs do belong the dog family Canidae.  Their closest relative is the crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous) found in South America.  An ancestor, common to both the raccoon dog and the crab-eating fox, has been found in the fossil record.  It ranged over Eurasia and North America 4-10 million years ago.

Being largely nocturnal, their genus name Nyctereutes seems appropriate, as it means "night wanderer."  Except when they are penned.