Seattle Darling Jimothy The Raccoon Has Scampered Into Hearts Across The Globe

One man’s trash panda is the internet’s beloved treasure.

Jimothy the raccoon, a very *unique* looking Seattle-based critter, has quickly scampered into peoples’ hearts after a video of him roaming the streets on July 14 went viral.

Unlike your typical raccoon, Jimothy has an extra short neck. The look has endeared him to fans across the world — so much so that the video has racked up more than 7 million views as of July 18.

Kiana Hall, the 33-year-old marketing specialist who was the one to capture the little guy on camera, tells TODAY.com that she’s delighted that the world has embraced the munchkin.

“I never thought that my video of a raccoon would take off,” Hall says. “I’m really happy that he could bring some kind of joy to people. Times are hard for everyone. Everyone could use something silly and fun like this.”

In the video, Jimothy gingerly saunters across some grass before making his way up a set of steps. Hall can be heard in the video, candidly exclaiming, “What am I looking at?!”

The 33-year-old shared in the caption that the happy sighting occurred on her 13th anniversary with her husband.

As Hall tells it, she and her husband were out for a walk when they saw something rustling around under a car. While Hall says she initially thought the creature was a cat, she was mistaken.

“I was pretty surprised and confused because the body shape didn’t look like anything I was familiar with,” Hall tells TODAY.com. “He turned around and I saw that masked pattern on the front of his face, and that’s when I realized he was a raccoon.”

As for the noble name “Jimothy?” Well Hall, who came up with the moniker with her husband, says it was an obvious choice.

“He just looked like a ‘Jimothy’ to me,” Hall says, laughing. “I don’t have any other explanation other than I looked at him and he looked like a ‘Jimothy.’”

Truer words have never been said.

Though Jimothy has only recently attained internet fame, it turns out that he’s been a bit of a fixture in the Seattle area for a few months. Another social media user, Ben Trammell, shared a few videos he took a while ago of Jimothy as a wee lad. The sight is exactly as adorable as expected.

“Seattle’s newest celebrity was born in our neighbor’s cedars to a raccoon family that had lived there for years,” Trammell said in the caption. “We saw Jimothy (way better than moniker than what we came up with) almost daily for months. The family used our backyard as a protected on/off ramp for their nightly outings.”

Trammell added that Jimothy’s mother appeared to be quite fond of her unique raccoon.

“He was so small and clumsy but his mother and siblings were always so patient and caring, keeping him from falling and sometimes just carrying him,” Trammell wrote in the post. “I honestly never had high hopes for his longevity but every time we saw him it brought so much joy and a fair amount of amusement.”

Trammell said his neighbors eventually moved out and their landlord began to cut down the cedars in which Jimothy’s family had been living. One day, Trammell wrote, he saw the family scatter from the area. He recalled how he had been worried that that was the last he’d see of Jimothy — that is until there were a few sightings of the raccoon this past spring, he said on social media.

“I’m really loving how connected so many people feel this funny little creature,” Trammell said in his post.

Since he went viral, Jimothy has become an unofficial mascot for Seattle, with several businesses, teams and more embracing him. The Seattle Mariners, for example, briefly changed their profile picture on social media to a photo of the little rascal, wearing the team’s hat. And the local King County Library shared some book recommendations in honor of the new celeb.

Seattle City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck even announced that on July 26, she plans to present a proclamation in the raccoon’s honor “to commemorate Jimothy Summer.”

Marcie Logsdon, an associate professor at Washington State University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital, told the Seattle Times that Jimothy’s shortened neck was likely the result of a congenital spine deformity. Logsdon added that she recommends the public keep a safe distance from the lovable critter. Luckily, she said, he appears to be doing quite well in the wild.

“The fact that he’s made it to this age tells me that he’s managing and that he’s adapting,” she told the outlet. “I was surprised and honestly a little bit inspired that he’s that resilient.”

The love for Jimothy, Hall says, has been heartwarming. She adds that she hopes people will be inspired to get out there and explore the beauty in their own neighborhoods.

“I saw Jimothy just out on a walk. I hope that more people will go out in their neighborhoods, wherever they are, and just look at what’s around them,” Hall says. “You just never know what you might see.”