Jimothy raccoon mystery has Seattle asking if there are several
Seattle’s viral raccoon may be one animal or several, as older sightings and wildlife experts complicate the Ballard celebrity’s backstory.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
3 min read
The Jimothy raccoon saga has taken a wonderfully weird turn in Seattle: the squat, round-bodied Ballard celebrity may not be a single animal at all.
After new and old neighborhood clips began circulating, some residents said they had seen a similarly shaped raccoon years before this summer’s viral video. FOX 13 Seattle reported that those claims have prompted wildlife experts and locals to question whether every chunky raccoon in the footage is the same Jimothy.
Jimothy became a local star after Seattle resident Kiana Hall filmed him in Ballard on July 13, according to Today. Hall said she first thought the animal under a parked car was a cat, then realized it was a raccoon with a noticeably compressed body and neck. She told Today she named him Jimothy because the name seemed to fit.
The clip spread fast online, drawing millions of views on Instagram. Seattle’s affection followed quickly: fans made memes, murals, tattoos and merchandise, while local groups joined the joke with public-service posts and a University of Washington honorary doctorate. The Seattle Mariners even featured a costumed Jimothy in the team’s seventh-inning Salmon Run, according to MLB.com.
Is there more than one Jimothy raccoon?
That is now the big Ballard question. FOX 13 Seattle interviewed resident Rebecca Sorenson, who pointed to clashing claims about Jimothy’s age, including posts saying he was born about a year ago and other posts from people saying they saw him in 2017.
“I’m curious now if there are more than one?” Sorenson told the station.
Wendi Mallo, an animal keeper at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park who cares for two raccoons, told FOX 13 Seattle that three to five years is already a long life for a raccoon in the wild. Mallo said many wild raccoons die in their first year because of vehicles, dogs, illness and other dangers.
If a 2017 sighting really showed the same raccoon, Jimothy would be at least 9 years old now. Mallo told FOX 13 Seattle that such an age would be unusually long for a wild raccoon, though she did not rule it out completely.
What might explain Jimothy’s shape?
Experts cited by the Seattle Times have said Jimothy’s appearance could be linked to a congenital spinal condition similar to short spine syndrome. That condition can leave an animal with a shortened-looking body, though Jimothy has not been examined by a veterinarian and no diagnosis has been confirmed.
Videos shared online show the raccoon walking, climbing and finding food despite the unusual build. Mallo told FOX 13 Seattle the animal seen in recent footage appears to be in good body condition.
One possibility is a single, unusually hardy raccoon. Another is that Ballard has more than one raccoon with a similar spinal abnormality. For now, both ideas remain unproven, since no examination or reliable identification method has confirmed whether the sightings show one animal or several.
Some residents have shared security-camera clips, photos and backyard sightings they believe show Jimothy at different ages. One set of Instagram videos is described as showing a young Jimothy with his mother and siblings in 2025, while other posts attach different timelines to raccoons that may or may not be him.
Wildlife officials have urged people to keep their distance, according to KIRO 7. Residents should not feed, touch, trap or try to pet Jimothy or any possible look-alike, especially as the online attention could bring more people into the neighborhood and create added risks for raccoons.
This story draws on original reporting from Mashable.