Jimothy the raccoon climbs a tree in Seattle. (Jen Hanosky)
When conservation biologist Julian Avery recently saw an Instagram video of a round creature with disproportionately long legs scampering across the ground, he had questions. Mostly: “What is that?”
As Avery looked closer, he identified the animal as a raccoon with a spinal abnormality he had never seen in the wild.
Avery joined millions of people across the internet who were confused, fascinated and ultimately cheering for the odd-looking raccoon, who lives in Seattle.
Kiana Hall, who posted the first viral video of the animal on July 14, named the raccoon Jimothy. In the past week, Jimothy has inspired a mural, tattoos, a subreddit, a mascot race at a Major League Baseball game and an upcoming city proclamation. The creature has been called inspiring, beautiful and even majestic. If you google the word “Jimothy,” a cartoon with the raccoon’s likeness scampers across the screen.
The raccoon probably was born with what’s known as short spine syndrome or a similar condition, said Avery, an associate research professor of wildlife ecology and conservation at Pennsylvania State University. The ultrarare congenital condition prevents vertebrae from developing into bone, causing them to compress and create a shortened spine. The result can cause animals to have short necks and tails and curved backs.
“The impossible proportions make a lot of people wonder: How on earth is it getting by?” Avery told The Washington Post.
Jimothy’s fame has brought attention to the condition that can also affect other animals, including dogs. The syndrome may have been documented in paintings of dogs as far back as the 1600s. It is a rare condition, and some estimates put the current number of cases at less than 30 worldwide.
The raccoon may have developed the condition after inheriting a gene from its parents, according to Avery. The condition is rare most likely because many animals with it die before or shortly after birth, Avery said.
Jimothy is at least 3 months old – raccoons typically leave their nests around that age – and Jimothy appeared to be independent in social media videos, said Karra Pierce, a wildlife veterinarian in Waynesboro, Virginia. Videos showed Jimothy climbing trees and foraging like any other raccoon, Pierce said.
“If he had a severe condition that prevented him from functioning,” Pierce said, “he probably wouldn’t have made it this far.”
It’s unclear if the condition causes Jimothy pain or hinders the raccoon’s ability to survive, but raccoons are resourceful, Avery said, due to their omnivorous diets and ability to build dens in many places. Some dogs with short spine syndrome live normal, pain-free lives, but others might develop joint and spinal pain, according to a Los Angeles veterinary hospital.
Wild raccoons typically live between two and three years, Avery said, and Jimothy will have the best chances of surviving in the wild if humans keep their distance. Feeding raccoons can make the animals reliant on people for food.
While Jimothy’s run might look clumsy compared with other raccoons, Jimothy probably doesn’t know the difference, said Hannah Griebling, a PhD candidate at the University of British Columbia who studies raccoon behavior.
“A lot of us love an underdog story,” Griebling said, “and I think he reminds us just how resilient wildlife really are.”
