Chapter 745: A Den of Raccoon Dogs

Chatting as they went, they arrived at the community where the residents had asked for help!

Fang Ye saw a few residents gathered together chatting and approached them.

He immediately introduced himself, "Hello, I'm from the zoo. I'd like to ask about the raccoon dogs!"

An older woman instantly became excited, "Oh, we were just talking about that!"

The other residents, upon hearing that they were from the zoo, also looked relieved, chattering and complaining about the raccoon dogs, clearly troubled by them for some time.

"It's all because people feed the stray cats! We told them not to, but they keep doing it!"

"Last time I saw a bunch of raccoon dogs fighting over the cat food they put out. There must have been twenty or thirty of them, fighting fiercely, with biting sounds everywhere."

"Imagine running into a raccoon dog at night, with all those glowing eyes. It's terrifying."

"Just the other night, my son and I were walking near Building 3, and we saw two raccoon dogs fighting under a big tree. It scared us to death!"

"I even bought a dog-beating stick for self-defense, but I heard these animals are protected? We can't hit them. Can you take them away to the wild?"

Fang Ye asked, "Where is the place where they put the cat food? Can you show us?"

"No problem!"

Led by the enthusiastic older woman, they arrived at a cat food feeding spot.

"Put an infrared camera on this tree!"

Wang Yan directed his students to set up the camera and adjust it, while Fang Ye chatted with the older woman, "Where do the raccoon dogs usually live? Have you seen them before?"

The older woman shook her head, "I don't know where they live, and I haven't seen them before."

Even if they had seen them before, they might have mistaken them for small black dogs, as ordinary residents usually don't pay much attention to wild animals.

Following the residents' guidance, they set up infrared cameras in places where raccoon dogs frequently appeared in the community.

At the entrance of a hole in the wall, Wang Yan found something and called Fang Ye over, "Look at this!"

Using a stick, he poked at a carcass on the ground, which could barely be identified as a kitten. Only the head and tail were left, with the middle part of the body hollowed out.

"Was it eaten by raccoon dogs?"

"Possibly!"

Fang Ye curiously asked, "What's this hole for?"

Wang Yan had specially looked into it after seeing raccoon dogs hiding in such holes before.

He explained that Linhai was near the sea, with a high groundwater level. To prevent water seepage on the first floor, some buildings had a one-meter-high suspended floor below the first floor, allowing pipes to pass through. Each side of the building had a ventilation opening.

For raccoon dogs, the suspended floor was a natural cave, providing shelter from the wind and rain and a place to hide from danger.

Communities with such ventilation openings were more attractive to raccoon dogs, especially with people regularly putting out cat food, explaining the high number of raccoon dogs in this community.

Suspecting that raccoon dogs lived there, the group hid behind some bushes to observe.

Sure enough, after about 10 minutes, a raccoon dog poked its head out of the ventilation opening, cautiously looking around and sniffing the air to detect any danger.

Sensing something amiss, it quickly retreated.

Another small raccoon dog poked its head out, appearing much bolder, openly looking around.

The adult raccoon dog, not yet sure of the safety, quickly pushed the small one back inside.

Once the adult raccoon dog deemed it safe, seven or eight small raccoon dogs followed it out.

The small raccoon dogs were much smaller than the adults, resembling round little puppies with dark fur and faint white markings on their faces and necks.

They chased each other around the entrance, like children playing during recess.

Some ran around, while others playfully pounced on each other, having a great time.

After the small raccoon dogs came out, another adult raccoon dog emerged, likely their other parent.

While the small raccoon dogs played, the parents stood quietly nearby, watching over them.

There's an idiom "a den of raccoon dogs," which accurately described this scene of raccoon dogs emerging from their den.

Wang Yan said, "There were reports of dogs suddenly being attacked by raccoon dogs while being walked. This period is the raccoon dogs' breeding season, so they might have felt threatened when encountered with their young."

This guess was likely correct. Raccoon dogs wouldn't attack dogs without reason, as dogs weren't their prey.

Moreover, people walking their dogs at night might not always use leashes, giving the dogs more freedom to approach raccoon dogs. If the raccoon dogs couldn't escape, they would naturally fight back.

Even pet dogs bark and fight when they meet, needing their owners to pull them apart, let alone wild raccoon dogs.

One small raccoon dog ran a bit too far!

Spotting people hiding behind the bushes, it curiously observed them.

The cubs were about two months old and should have been very sensitive, fleeing at any sign of danger. However, growing up without human presence, they were bold and curious, even wanting to sniff the humans.

The raccoon dog mother came over, visibly startled by the sight of people, quickly grabbing the cub in her mouth and running back, while the father nervously called the other cubs, and the whole family swiftly retreated into the hole.

Wang Yan said, "Let's go check out other places."

On the way, they encountered another raccoon dog on the grass!

This raccoon dog was engrossed in eating grass. Hearing footsteps and feeling the ground vibrate, it turned its head to look.

It didn't immediately panic and run because it saw Fang Ye and the others standing still three meters away.

After observing for a moment and feeling no threat, it continued eating.

The boldness and intelligence of raccoon dogs allowed them to quickly adapt to urban environments!

If it weren't busy eating, it might have even approached to explore.

Fang Ye rubbed his chin, "This raccoon dog is quite bold! It's not even fazed by so many of us watching."

Wang Yan said, "Raccoon dogs are nocturnal, usually active at night. Now they're coming out during the day, showing no fear of humans. Their habits are slowly changing."

Coming out during the day also meant more time to search for food.

After setting up the infrared cameras, it was almost evening, and the group had dinner nearby.

As night fell, black shadows with glowing eyes appeared in the community.

When raccoon dogs fought over food, they growled at each other.

The cat food feeding spot from the day was now surrounded by many raccoon dogs. Shining a flashlight scared away five or six of them, but a few continued eating the cat food, unfazed.

More raccoon dogs lurked in the shadows, ready to join in.

Fang Ye saw the cat food and exclaimed, "Wow, who put out all this cat food? It must be several pounds!"