Tanuki are Real!?

As written by New York Magazine, “But, as the internet is finding out today, tanuki are real, and they’re spectacularly cute.” Wait a minute! Was there ever, even for a moment, any actual uncertainty that tanuki are a real animal species? Are there actually people who thought that tanuki only existed as mascot statues, a Super Mario cosplay outfit, and characters in a Studio Ghibli movie? I mean, yes, tanuki really do exist. They’re not like capybara. Now those things can’t possibly exist in real life.