'I have never seen any other animal like it': Jimothy the short-spined Seattle raccoon becomes the internet’s favorite tiny beast after being spotted waddling and thriving in the wild

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Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager
Jul 20, 2026 6:45 AM EDT

Jimothy helps us relearn something we all thought was a hard truth: that nature is harsh and unforgiving to those who are "different".

Drawing from the depths of my memories, I remember very clearly learning about evolution and "survival of the fittest". We, as students, were taught that nature is a harsh place where only those with the skills, intelligence, or tools to survive will make it to the end. The sick or deformed are left behind or become food for another animal. It's the circle of life. But Jimothy teaches us that there is a place for the "imperfect" in nature. 

Jimothy, the short-spined raccoon, went viral this weekend after a video caught by a local Seattle resident quickly became one of the most shared videos on X in recent hours. Jimothy literally looks like someone took a raccoon and compressed it into a fluffy ball. Some describe him as a cryptid, others, a beast, but to me, he just looks adorable. By all the laws of evolution, he should not have survived. And yet, the video(s) captured of him not only show him surviving, but thriving. 

He hangs out with the other local raccoons who don't seem to mind his different appearance, doesn't harm anyone, and has now risen to local celebrity status because of his adorableness. It's probably because Jimothy is accepted by his fellow raccoon brethren that he has been able to waddle in and out of our hearts since first seeing him. Everyone needs a little help sometimes, especially those like Jimothy who might have a tougher time at certain activities. But it just goes to show how necessary having a support system is. 

So now, even in nature, we are seeing that we don't have to abandon those whom we might define as "separate" from us. We should invite them in, show them our support, and realize that maybe we're not so different after all. 

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    Source: Kiana Hall Meet "Jimothy," Seattle's latest local legend
    via Kiana Hall

  • Just look at him. He looks like a bowling ball with legs and fur or a weird toy I would buy for my dog. I'm obsessed. Think about someone seeing Jimothy before we all had iPhones. No one would ever believe that he really existed. So the real takeaway here is that there is a benefit to us all having instant cameras in our hands all the time.

  • 02
    seattletimes ✓ Filming the creature with her cellphone Monday night, Kiana Hall was certain of only one thing: the tiny beast skittering out from under a car in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood was definitely not a cat.
    via seattletimes
  • 03
    June 2026 Ballard, Seattle Though some have likened Jimothy to mythical creatures like cryptids and chupacabras, he is, in fact, a deformed and belovedly bedraggled raccoon.
    via Kiana Hall
  • 04
    Smaller than a housecat and unusually round, the gray-furred creature loped on long legs across a patch of grass and up a nearby staircase before climbing over a fence and out of sight. Hall guessed it was a raccoon based on its mask-like facial markings. She also suspected it had short spine syndrome, a rare congenital disorder she had learned about online.
    via seattletimes
  • 05
    June 2026 Ballard, Seattle The raccoon's abnormally shortened neck is likely caused by a congenital deformity of the spine.
    via Kiana Hall
  • 06
    Hall published the video the next day on her Instagram, naming the creature "Jimothy" because, she said, "he looked like a Jimothy." Within hours, Hall's video started going viral.
    via seattletimes
  • 07
    June 2026 Ballard, Seattle Jimothy appears to be functioning well and "very spry," excellent signs for his survival, according to an expert.
    via Kiana Hall
  • 08
    Source: Kiana Hall
    via Kiana Hall

  • Something that I feel is really important to preface here is that Jimothy's condition, according to most vets, is not something that gives him chronic pain. They surmise that it might be uncomfortable at times, but it does not seem like he is experiencing anguish on the daily.

  • 09

    Jimothy as a baby

    Cheezburger Image 10648875008
    via @sitkapetrodolla
  • 10

    Jimothy as a baby

    Cheezburger Image 10648875264
    via @sitkapetrodolla
  • 11
    Dexerto @Dexerto Subscribe 10 Jimothy, a raccoon with a spine issue, has become an online celebrity after being spotted in Seattle "I have never seen any other animal like it" 1:30 PM - Jul 17, 2026 2.5M Views BP
    via @Dexerto
  • 12
    World of Warcraft Jimothy @Warcraft
    via @Warcraft
  • 13
    ୦ AZ_Ciam @az_Illuminate I would give my life for you jimothy 17 12.9K ❤ 27K 177K ☐ 1 ...
    via @az_Illuminate
  • 14
    enabuns @EnaBuns I'll love him forever 0.
    via @EnaBuns
  • 15
    dubsea DUB SEA @dubseatv ANOTHER JIMOTHY SIGHTING JUST DROPPED!! ••
    via @dubseatv
  • 16
    evan loves worf ❤ @esjesjesj Absolutely mogs whoever the last beloved animal was Moonshot @moonshot. Jul 17 A rare short-spined raccoon named 'Jimothy' is on the move in Seattle 93 17635 26K 535K
    via @esjesjesj
  • 17
    Greg the Sorcerer @gregthesorcerer Before it was commonplace for everyone to have a high quality camera in their pocket this little dude probably would've become a local cryptid and been given a name like "the Seattle Squelcher." NEW POST New York Post @nypost Jul 16 Mutant creature named 'Jimothy' stalks Seattle - and becomes local celebrity trib.al/HH2vSpF 48 t1.5K 29K Ill 858K
    via @gregthesorcerer
  • 18
    Garrick Dion @GareRick If you're just discovering the joy of Jimothy, do not sleep on Tilly the Friendly Loaf
    via @GareRick
  • 19
    rach against the machine @rchlmllnd let's be a special little boy with mama 4/5 .. ... 16 tz 1.5K 23K lil 176K ☐ 1
    via @rchlmllnd
  • 20
    Zack Stentz @MuseZack I think a reason we find the Jimothy story so moving is that it goes against our sense of nature always being harsh and ruthless. In reality, even in the animal kingdom sometimes the deformed & disabled still find their way in the world, often with the help of family.
    via @MuseZack
  • 21
    Henry White @HMBWhite It rocks that, health wise, this thing is just totally fine He's just smushed
    via @HMBWhite
  • 22
    Cheezburger Image 10648878336
    via Polymarket
  • 23
    Magills @magills_ ANIMORPHS
    via @magills_
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    via seattletimes

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