Meet Jimothy: The Round Raccoon Who Broke the Internet

On July 13, 2026, Seattle resident Kiana Hall was out walking with her husband in the Ballard neighborhood when she spotted what she first mistook for a cat hiding under a parked car. It turned out to be a raccoon — but not a normal-looking one. Short, round, and almost perfectly ball-shaped, the animal was unlike any raccoon she'd seen. Hall posted a video of the encounter to Instagram and, on a whim, gave the little guy a name: Jimothy. Within days the clip had racked up millions of views, and Jimothy was, officially, a viral sensation. ,_portrait.jpg) *A raccoon (Procyon lotor) — generic stock photo, not Jimothy himself. Source: [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Raccoon_(Procyon_lotor),_portrait.jpg), public domain.* So what's actually going on with his shape? Wildlife experts who've weighed in believe Jimothy has a congenital spinal deformity resembling short spine syndrome, a condition more commonly documented in dogs (Minnesota's Quasi and Cooper are well-known examples) and rarely seen in other mammals. Despite the unusual silhouette, he appears to move, forage, and behave like any other healthy young raccoon, with no signs of pain or mobility trouble — likely thanks to good care from his mother early on.  *A raccoon (Procyon lotor) — generic stock photo. Source: [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Raccoon_procyon_lotor.jpg), public domain.* From there, Jimothy-mania snowballed well past Instagram. The City of Seattle held an event in his honor and issued an official proclamation, the Seattle Mariners and even NASA joined in with social media posts referencing him, and Guild Wars 2 developers added a Jimothy-inspired pet to the game. Not bad for a raccoon who just wanted to hide under a car. **Sources:** [ABC News](https://abcnews.com/GMA/Living/jimothy-raccoon-captures-internets-heart/story?id=135020936) · [Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2026/07/26/who-is-jimothy-the-viral-round-raccoon-explained/) · [EarthSky](https://earthsky.org/earth/jimothy-the-raccoon-is-a-survivor/) · [Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/07/25/how-jimothy-racoon-survived-with-short-spine-syndrome/) · [FOX 9](https://www.fox9.com/news/jimothy-raccoon-spotlights-minnesotas-short-spined-dogs-quasi-cooper-july-2026) · [GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/games/mmo/an-arenanet-developers-spouse-first-discovered-jimothy-the-raccoon-so-its-only-right-that-guild-wars-2-adds-him-as-a-new-pet-for-all-classes/) Images: raccoon (*Procyon lotor*) photos via Wikimedia Commons, public domain — used as generic illustrations since no free-licensed photo of Jimothy himself is available.