The Raccoon Renaissance
The little bandits are having a moment, and why shouldn't they?
What’s going on?
You might have seen news reports of raccoons are becoming more domesticated and making rounds in Cornwall (while being bodyshamed by the British media in the process) – but it’s only the latest manifestation of a deeper raccoon reappraisal that includes people sharing clips of themselves taking care of the little gremlins (like deticking them) or even embracing them as pets.
What’s driving it?
The internet (sometimes) loves a redemption arc, including of animals historically considered pests – pigeons had a big moment earlier in the 2020s (viz artist Sydney Anderson’s cartoon Job, and videos of sad pigeon nests). Raccoons are the perfect next candidate: mischievous, expressive, and easily anthromorphied (those little hands! and how they wash their food and get upset when their cotton candy washes away!).
What does it mean?
Part of the raccoons’ renewed appeal comes down projection: scrappy, a little feral around the edges, and just trying to make the most of life in 2025 (remind you of anyone?).
Underneath it is a bigger truth: many of the rules we follow and lines we draw – like the one between “pet” / “pest” – are arbitrary, and sometimes it only takes a small cluster of people to spark a much wider reappraisal. There wasn’t a shadow committee deciding raccoons should be the animal of the moment – they just happened to hit a collective feeling, and the internet did the rest. Some things stay redeemed (like cats being embraced as pets from the 1700s); others slip back into their old category as soon as the vibe shifts once again.
Final takeaway
The raccoon moment shows how malleable the categories by which we organize our lives actually are – and how quickly collective tastes can evolve. Sometimes we can influence it, but mostly we can just ride the tide.