No, the long-legged gray fluffball that rummages through Seattle's garbage cans for food isn't a new species or an AI-generated megarat - it's a raccoon with an unusually short spine. But Jimothy, as he's been named, can do everything raccoons do, with a little help from those closest to him.
"He was so small and clumsy. But his mother and siblings were always so patient and caring, stopping him from falling and sometimes carrying him," Ben Trammell told The Seattle Times.
It was under Trammell's porch that Jimothy spent his first years of life.
Millions of views
Posts about Jimothy have generated millions of views on social media and he is now being highlighted as a symbol for the outcast and disabled. Last week, a Jimothy painting by street artist Ryan Henry Ward sold for 63,000 kronor at an Instagram auction.
Ward donated the money to a charity that distributes food to those in need, and now other companies, including Amazon and Microsoft, have also donated a corresponding amount to it, reports Geekwire.
