Precoital Behaviours of Japanese Raccoon Dog Family around the Snow Field Den Site

A family of three Japanese raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes viverrinus, family Canidae) came back in a row to the den site in the snow-covered fallow field. As always, the monogamous parents seemed to lead the way and the visually-handicapped helper (daughter?) brought up the rear. It was about to be their mating season. The male (dad) in rut sniffed at the rear end of the female partner (mum) to examine if she was in heat. As you can see, the stimulated female seemed to become sexually aroused, because her tail gradually rose high. Meanwhile, the helper (daughter) watched them (flirting parents) from the den entrance. After a while, the trio snuggled up and groomed each other at the narrow entrance of the den. Captured with my new trailcam in the sunny early-morning (7:10 - 8:38 AM) of mid-March 2025 in Japan. For a full story (text in Japanese); https://sigma-nature-vlog.blogspot.com/2026/06/3_0170936742.html