A live 5 kg raccoon was found in a container of frozen meat shipped from the United States to Vietnam on Sept. 30. It had crossed the sea for 35 days and survived by eating most of the food inside, VN Express has reported.
It was discovered by food company warehouse staff in Binh Tan District, Ho Chi Minh City, and was then immediately taken in by Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens.
“This is a rare case, showing that the vitality of the raccoon is still very good even when it lives in a cold environment, lacking in oxygen,” said Mai Khac Trung Truc, director of the zoo.
The animal’s health quickly improved over a week, and the adventurer is now being fed a kilogram of mixed meat every day in a barn about 8 square meters in size, with many dry branches and rocky caves to climb and sleep. “This is the first time the zoo has adopted a raccoon of North American origin,” Truc said.
The raccoon (Procyon lotor) is a meat-eating mammal native to North America that primarily operates at night.
Raccoons are noted for their high intelligence, with studies showing they can remember how to perform complex tasks three years after learning them.
