The International Cryptozoology Museum has on exhibition a red raccoon, presently being displayed in its front window. This is actually a rare animal, a special color phase of the normal raccoon. They are infrequently seen and less often caught, in the wild. Seeing one is less common than viewing a black squirrel.

Photographer: Hillary Oppmann.

This red-phase raccoon was spotted during the Summer of 2009, in the River Gorge, at the Oak Savanna restoration area in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Red phase raccoons are a naturally-occurring uncommon color variant — with orangish or yellowish fur instead of the usual gray and black and white. These raccoons are also referred to as “rufous-phase” or “melanistic” raccoons.

Mounts of these raccoons are likewise scarce.