Late last week, the appearance, capture and ransoming of a raccoon made headlines in the Dominican Republic. In part, this is because there are no raccoons supposed to be on the island of Hispaniola in the first place, and because the guys that captured the animal are asking for a ransom of RD$100,000 to hand over the animal.

The animal, as previously stated is not native, and must have arrived here on board a container, since it is extremely unlikely for one of the very wild animals to have been brought here as a pet, given the controls at all of the airports.

Given the extraordinary appearance of the non-native animal, the men who captured it are seeing easy money, and have not allowed the authorities to even see the animal.

Given the danger that this animal, while very cute and picturesque, could potentially pose, authorities urge it be placed in the hands of more competent persons. Meanwhile, the saga of the raccoon held hostage continues. The Ministry of Environment is requesting the captors of the racoon deliver the animal to the authorities without cost.

The Ministry of Environment requested the people responsible for having the raccoon that has been seen in the last few days, presumably in the sector of Cristo Rey, Distrito Nacional, to voluntarily hand it over to this institution or to the National Zoo.

The request of the environmental governing entity responds to the high danger of having this animal out of its natural habitat, due to the fact that this mammal, which belongs to the Procyonidae family, is a carrier of several diseases that are harmful to humans and pets.