Raccoon dogs: non-native omnivores are spreading in Europe

Senckenberg scientist Prof. Dr. Sven Klimpel, together with researchers from Goethe University Frankfurt, has investigated the feeding behavior of raccoon dogs and their potential risk of transmitting parasites as part of the joint ZOWIAC project. The results of the study confirm the assumption that the animals immigrated from Asia are infested with a diverse parasite fauna. Unlike the invasive raccoons, however, they do not yet appear to pose a threat to native wildlife. The study has been published in the “International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife”.