Racoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonides) in Central Europe: history of range expansion and current state of knowledge

The thesis is about the raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides), a canid invasive in a large part of Europe. It describes its distribution in native and invaded range, the history of colonisation, ecology and social behaviour, as well as its impact in the invaded range. Available knowledge is summarized, with main focus on central Europe. The native distribution range of the species is in eastern Asia. The animals were first brought to the European part of the former Soviet Union in the first half of 20th century for breeding at fur farms, and later being released into the wild for hunting. The raccoon dog colonised 1,4 million km2 over the next 50 years, and became an established carnivore common in many European countries. A number of factors influenced the successful invasion; an opportunistic feeding strategy and high habitat adaptability; repeated and numerous introductions over a long period of time, resulting in a high genetic variability; the ability to hibernate; low numbers of predators; the tendency to wander, sometimes to quite distant areas; and high intraspecific tolerance. The environmental and economic impact of raccoon dog seems to be rather low, and the most dangerous aspect of its invasion is the transmision of infectious diseases, mainly rabies