We’re thrilled to be giving a forever home to a male and female raccoon dog, also known by their Japanese name, tanuki.

They are currently in quarantine away from public viewing, but we are hoping to move them into their new habitat inside the Sanctuary by the end of September.

Before our raccoon dogs move in to their new home, we need YOUR help to name them! Our Animal Team have come up with a shortlist of names, and you can vote for your favourites by following the link below.

“Help us name our Raccoon Dogs!” Voting Form

The pair of names that receive the most votes will be selected, and those that have chosen the winning names will be entered into a raffle to win a family pass to our Sanctuary including an exclusive viewing of our raccoon dogs in their new home!

Entries close at midnight on Thursday, 19th September. The winning names and raffle winner will be announced by our Animal Manager on the following day.

The Shortlist

• Pom & Poko – Japanese folklore words for the sound a raccoon dog makes, and the name of a Studio Ghibli film about raccoon dogs.
• Yuki & Shiro – Japanese words for ‘snow’ & ‘white’.
• Yoshi & Poochy – Characters from the Japanese video game company Nintendo. Yoshi also means ‘good luck’ in Japanese.
• Chichibu & Myoko – The names of two Japanese national parks.
• Yasei & Shinzo – Japanese words for ‘wild’ & ‘heart’.
• Yasei & Kokoro – Japanese words for ‘wild’ & ‘heart’ (‘Shinzo’ and ‘Kokoro’ both mean ‘heart’).

For Competition Terms and Conditions, please click here.