CORRECTION: This story was updated at 11:04 a.m. on Oct. 18 to correct the name of For Fox Sake in the first paragraph.
_____
An extremely rare hairless raccoon is living at For Fox Sake Wildlife Rescue in Chattanooga after being rescued from outside a home in Chattanooga's Spring Valley neighborhood.
A woman called McKamey Animal Center after spotting the animal hanging around outside her home for about a week.
(READ MORE: Rare naked raccoon found in Chattanooga has died)
"She had no clue what he was," said For Fox Sake Wildlife Rescue Executive Director Juniper Russo, whom McKamey officials contacted after they captured what they discovered was a rare "naked" raccoon. "He was just hanging out on her deck looking cold and confused."
Entirely hairless aside from his whiskers and a few hairs on his feet, the raccoon looks more like a gargoyle or a jackal. Russo named him Anubis, after the Egyptian god of death represented by a jackal.
Russo, who spoke to the Chattanooga Times Free Press by phone, has been able to find only three other case reports of naked raccoons, which either ended up at rehabilitation facilities or were spotted in the wild and photographed, she said.
(READ MORE: Arctic fox found in Soddy-Daisy shows why keeping wildlife as pets can be a problem)
Last Friday, Russo took Anubis to Chattanooga veterinarian Gabrielle Falk of Animal Clinic Inc. to try and determine the cause of his mysterious baldness.
"He definitely does not have mange, which is what I think everybody assumes when they see a hairless wild animal," Russo said.
A fungal infection was also ruled out as a possibility, and Anubis' blood work showed that he is extremely anemic, which likely indicates an autoimmune disease, Russo said. Unfortunately, that means he probably has a chronic condition that will require him to remain in captivity.
"The skin is a little dry but relatively healthy otherwise," Falk said by phone.
Anubis is being treated for anemia, and Falk is waiting now on skin biopsies to come back from the lab.
(READ MORE: Chattanooga wildlife rehabilitators help care for animals in need)
The fact that an animal with such severe anemia was able to survive recent nighttime temperatures without fur is remarkable, Russo said.
Most raccoons remain with their mothers until they are 4 to 5 months old, depending on the region where they live and the health of the babies and the mother, Russo said.
Falk estimates Anubis' age is about 6 months, leading Russo to believe that, unless his hair loss happened very recently, it is likely that he survived because his mother continued to look out for him.
Falk believes that would probably have been Anubis' first winter, and he probably would have frozen to death if he had not been found.
Anubis' behavior indicates he probably was not a pet, as he is not very friendly, and he has traits that do not exist in captive raccoon populations, Russo said. Captive raccoons often share traits such as blond or particularly long and fluffy fur, she added.
Although Anubis has a protracted third eyelid, which indicates illness, he isn't necessarily blind as Russo had initially believed, Falk said.
It's unlikely Anubis will ever have hair, regardless of whether he previously had fur, Russo said.
But one thing is for sure: He doesn't need a sweater, as some people have offered after learning of his plight on Facebook.
"It's really sweet that people are thinking of it," Russo said, adding that she understands why people offer, "but it would just stress him out to be restrained and put into one."
Other donations, such as funds to help cover the cost of Anubis' care, are welcome and can be made to the nonprofit organization at bit.ly/4FSakeWild.
Contact Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6508.