Kooky For Tanuki: 25+ Adorable Pics Of The Japanese Raccoon-Dog That Influenced The Super Mario Brothers

Author image for Blake Seidel
Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager
Jul 11, 2023 1:00 PM EDT

Okay everyone, meet the Tanuki! It's a breed of wild dog that lives in Japan and closely resembles a raccoon. Fun fact - it's the only species of dog that hibernates in the winter! Although this pupper may look like our favorite trash pandas, they do have a few differences. The main differences are that raccoons have large, bushy tails, and tanuki have short, stubby tails. Also, the paws of a tanuki are more dog-like, whereas raccoons have tiny little hands!

We might have just found our new favorite animal, and we think we're not alone! This unique animal is so cute that it actually influenced Nintendo, where they added a special power-up in Super Mario Brothers 3 to Mario, allowing him to obtain a magical leaf that turned him into a Tanuki-Mario, dressed in an absurdly cute Tanuki costume, complete with ears. Scroll down to see these adorable doggos below, you won't regret it!

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  • 01
    Whiskers
    via Andy1611

    Not only are they adorable and they give Mario superpowers, but they're also fluffy! So round, so floofy, very friend-shaped, they must be friends. At least we hope they are. Not that we're thinking about stealing one….no, not at all…

  • 02
    Carnivore
    via Andy1611
  • 03
    Hairstyle - Black line between eyes. Front Racoon 42cm 60cm Back gh ffft Rims of ears are white. White whiskers 'stand out. Bushy tail not unlike that of a fox. Striped pattern. Not black. <Paw prints> Similar to human hand prints. As such, they can grasp and hold onto things very well. No line. Front Tanukil Racoon dog 535 50cm 60cm Back Rims of ears are black. Black whiskers. Short tail without striped pattern. Black paws. <Paw prints> Almost the same as fox or dog prints.
    via cocoakoumori
  • 04
    Eye
    via Andy1611
  • 05
    Vertebrate - Tanuki Maliker Ninja
    via Malibu Ninja

    To be fair, he looks like a raccoon in this costume, but he's supposed to be a tanuki. Everything we just explained about tanukis not having large, bushy tails, Nintendo just decided to throw away. Don't ask us why.

  • 06
    Food - cochit, bart)
    via oligarchy
  • 07
    Plant - 398
    via Andy1611
  • 08
    Head
    via cocoakoumori
  • 09
    Eye
    via oligarchy
  • 10
    Eye
    via oligarchy
  • 11
    Head
    via Andy1611
  • 12
    Carnivore
    via Andy1611
  • 13
    Carnivore
    via Andy1611
  • 14
    Carnivore
    via Andy1611
  • 15
    Head
    via Andy1611
  • 16
    Carnivore
    via Andy1611
  • 17
    Carnivore
    via Andy1611
  • 18
    Head
    via Andy1611
  • 19
    Carnivore
    via Andy1611
  • 20
    Carnivore - ಲಿಂಗ
    via oligarchy
  • 21
    Carnivore - Dochib beri
    via oligarchy
  • 22
    Dog - pochib tort
    via oligarchy
  • 23
    Carnivore - 34 @chibi tori
    via oligarchy
  • 24
    Carnivore
    via oligarchy
  • 25
    Eye
    via cocoakoumori
  • 26
    Plant
    via cocoakoumori
  • 27
    Carnivore
    via cocoakoumori
  • 28
    Carnivore
    via cocoakoumori

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Tags

aww dogs adorable tanuki japanese cute animals cute Japan raccoons Super Mario bros mario nintendo animals
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