SALT LAKE CITY — A village in the United Kingdom is currently under attack … by two raccoon dogs.
Yes, they’re real animals.
According to Yahoo News, police from Clarborough in Nottinghamshire have warned residents that “potentially dangerous” wild raccoon dogs have escaped from an enclosure. Residents Mandy and Dale Marsh said they chased one of the dogs away from their pet goat, Betty, and pony, Peaches.
“We were laid in bed at about 4am and I heard such a terrifying noise like I had never heard before. It was screaming," Mandy Marsh said, according to Yahoo News. “My husband went out. … He came back and he said to me 'you are going to have to come and see this, there is something in the field attacking the pony and I have absolutely no idea what it is'.”
Fortunately, Peaches and Betty weren't injured in the incident.
BBC News reports that the raccoon dogs — or tanukis — are native to Eastern Asia, including Japan. The animals have become widespread in Europe thanks to escapes like the one in Clarborough. The animals feed on insects, fish and small mammals.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals discourages people from keeping them as pets since raccoon dogs are difficult to domesticate, “extremely smelly” and require large environments to live in. It is also illegal to sell and keep raccoon dogs in the U.K. due to their status as an invasive species.