After the popular “Rascal Raccoon” cartoon series in the late 1970s, Japanese families rushed out to buy raccoons as pets. They discovered that the animals are rascally, as in the series, but much harder to care for than expected, so many abandoned their pets. Those pets bred and the number of raccoons has exploded, creating a scourge of raccoons in Tokyo. Hosts Carol Hills and Carolyn Beeler explain.
Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you. We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
Make a gift today, and you’ll help us unlock a matching gift of $67,000!