Move over Jimothy — there may be more uber-viral raccoons out there.
Seattle’s social media oddity, Jimothy, has taken the internet by storm for his short spine affliction that gives it the appearance of a creature born out of a horror movie — but experts say there may be more than one deformed raccoon roaming the streets of the Emerald City.
As the stubby critter’s internet popularity has exploded both locally and internationally, questions have arisen whether it ‘s the same Jimothy who’s been spotted for years, or if there are multiple cryptid-like creatures calling the suburban Ballard neighborhood home.
“There’s posts now that say that he was born a year ago and then other people with posts that saw him in 2017,” Ballard resident Rebecca Sorenson told FOX 13 Seattle.
“I’m curious now if there are more than one?”
Jimothy — who suffers from short spine syndrome, a rare congenital condition that affects “almost zero” percent of animals — has become a local celebrity.
While there are conflicting narratives over the odd creature’s age, animal keeper Wendi Mallo said she’d be surprised if it was the same freaky furball some claimed to have spotted nearly 10 years ago.
“Yeah that seems like a very long-lived raccoon to me for the wild,” she said.
Mallo, who cares for two raccoons at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park in Eatonville, said raccoons in managed care conditions can live much longer than those in the wild, the outlet reported.
“In the wild, 3 to 5 years would be doing really well,” she said.
“A lot of raccoons don’t even make it through their first year.”
Because of that, the animal keeper said it’s hard to know whether Jimothy is that old — or if there are multiple wannabe out there.
“But who knows, there’s magic in the wild, we’ve just got to look for it,” Mallo added.
Despite his deformities, Mallo said Jimothy’s body appears to be in good condition in the viral videos that have amassed hundreds of thousands of views online.
While he has become an internet sensation, Mallo is surprised at Jimothy’s stardom as humans typically “don’t like animals that are too successful” or in their “backyard.”
“There’s definitely a visceral response when you see a video of Jimothy, it’s pretty impactful,” she added.
Urban raccoons face significant challenges, including dangers from cars and dogs. Mallo encourages people to admire wildlife from afar instead of approaching or feeding it, FOX 13 Seattle reported.
“I’m amazed at how well he’s done and I’m amazed at the magic that’s in our own backyards,” the animal keeper said about the deformed raccoon.
“I think that it’s a nice little wakeup call for us to kind of notice what’s back there and pay attention.”
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