[VIDEO] How Fur Farms, World War II, and a Bomb Created Germany’s Raccoon Invasion

View Full

hard to Believe History Playlist

View Full

hard to Believe History Playlist

How Fur Farms, World War II, and a Bomb Created Germany’s Raccoon Invasion

Transcript:
In the 1920s, raccoons were imported from North America to Germany for one reason: fur. They were raised in fur farms across the country, including one in the forested region of Hesse. Then, in 1934, a German forester near the Edersee in Hesse officially released a pair into the wild to “enrich the local fauna.” Around the same time, a few others escaped or were set free from nearby fur farms, though sightings remained rare in the early years.

During World War II, an unexpected twist accelerated their spread. An Allied airstrike hit one of the raccoon farms in Hesse, destroying the enclosures and releasing several raccoons into the wild. With no natural predators in the region and plenty of food sources, the raccoons adapted quickly and began to multiply. This wartime escape marked a turning point in their expansion across central and western Germany.

Today, these animals are considered an invasive species in Germany. Their population numbers in the hundreds of thousands, and they’ve become a familiar presence in both rural and urban areas. These clever creatures raid trash bins, nest in attics, and even cause electrical outages. Despite their cute appearance, raccoons pose challenges to native wildlife and urban infrastructure. Efforts to control their spread have largely failed, making their rise one of Germany’s most unexpected wildlife success stories—all thanks to fashion, a bomb, and a very clever critter.