This adorable raccoon dog is a tanuki and it is our new favorite animal, Internet
Cats, goats, owls — they're all old news. 2016 is the year of the tanuki.
A tanuki, commonly mistaken for a badger or a raccoon, is actually an atypical species of dog known in Japan. Twitter user @chibi_tori happens to be the caretaker of one, and it is currently stealing the hearts of thousands of Internet citizens with his love of food and warm stoves.
See also: Adopted pet raccoon thinks she's a dog, loves playing and snuggling
Even though they're closely related to dogs, tanuki are usually about two feet in length and make sounds much like foxes. In the wild, they're often found living in burrows.
This particular tanuki, known as Tanu, spends most of his time sleeping during the wintertime. His caretaker finds him curled up in front of a small stove where he keeps nice and toasty, away from the icy weather.
When he's not sleeping, he's eating healthy meals created by his loving owner.
He also gets plenty of opportunities to play outside in the snow — as long as he can return to his stove. Tanuki life is a hard life, but somebody has to do it.
Chibi_tori shares plenty of adorable photos of Tanu on Twitter, as well as other animal pictures for the Internet to enjoy.
H/T: Buzzfeed News
