On the night of the 18th (this month), at a ballet class in Ebisu, Tokyo, a raccoon dog suddenly appeared, and was captured by the police.
The raccoon dog was found at a ballet class near JR Ebisu Station in Ebisu, Shibuya-ku. According to the Metropolitan Police Department, after 9 PM on the 18th, a female staff of the ballet class reported that, "A raccoon dog came in, and (now we) trapped it in a room." Three police officers rushed to the scene and enclosed the raccoon dog in the ballet studio to capture it. Reports say the raccoon dog calmly approached the net that the police officer was holding. No one was hurt. The captured raccoon dog was 50 cm in length, wore no collar, and is believed to be wild. The police department tried giving dog food, but the raccoon dog did not touch it. According to a zoo attendant, raccoon dogs live even in the heart of Tokyo, and sometimes look for leftovers of people. They become active in warmer weather, and prefer to move about at night. The police department will return the raccoon dog to its habitat, such as the mountains or forests. The woman at the reception of the ballet class said, "The automatic door in front of me opened, even though there was no sign of anyone passing by. I thought it was strange, then I heard a scream, and when I went into the back classroom, I was surprised to see a raccoon dog. The raccoon dog was agitated at first, but by the time the police came to capture it, it was calm and didn't run wild. I'm surprised that it went straight into the inner classroom."