Japanese Raccoon Dog Digs out Leaf Litter at the Entrance of Japanese Badger’s Den in Early Winter

A Japanese raccoon dog (Nyctereutes viverrinus, family Canidae) prowled around the deserted sett of Japanese badgers (Meles anakuma, family Mustelidae) in the defoliated secondary forest in search of something to feed on. Suddenly, the Japanese raccoon dog was surprised at something and ran toward an entrance of the badger's den (to hide inside?). It didn’t enter the burrow but dug out the stack of leaf litter at the entrance using its paws instead. And then the Japanese raccoon dog resumed foraging for food. Captured with my new trailcam in the evening (around 18:25 PM) of early-December 2024 in Japan. It was 0 degrees Celsius. The sunset time was 16:23 PM. For a full story (text in Japanese); https://sigma-nature-vlog.blogspot.com/2026/02/blog-post_27.html