Bone growth and body weight patterns in juvenile raccoon dogs in Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan

Abstract

Abstract Information on growth of the Japanese raccoon dog, Nyctereutes procyonoides is limited. We collected 237 juvenile raccoon dogs, road-killed and culled for pest control in Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan from 2002 to 2019. We measured the skull, mandible, femur lengths, and body weights of all specimens and used the body weights of healthy animals (n = 136). We found that these variables increased rapidly up to September and reached maximum values in October. Evidence of dorsal surface roughness of the neurocranium became obvious in October, and up to 35 % of individuals had rough dorsal surfaces of neurocranium in December. Epiphyseal fusion of femurs appeared in September, and 27 % of specimens having fused femurs was recorded in December. This study firstly described the growth patterns of the Japanese raccoon dogs based on a lot of samples.