A Seattle-area raccoon with a shortened spine has become one of the most famous animals on the internet. Videos of Jimoti walking through neighborhoods, balancing on backyard fences, and engaging in nighttime activities have garnered millions of views. Its popularity makes sense: it is cute and easy to recognize with its unique body shape. But what if our emotional investment in a wild raccoon’s life has less to do with Jimoti himself and more to do with what he awakens within us?
From human center to wild otherness
Modern life is almost entirely human-centered. We spend our days in environments made entirely for people, made by people. Our screens and our daily lives are mostly a reflection of us. Ecophilosopher David Abrams argues that when our lives become human-centered, something important is lost. Humans are wired to communicate with what it calls wild otherness: non-human living beings whose lives are at odds with ours. Encounters with wild animals lose people in a fascinating and comprehensive way. The presence of a community takes us out of our own world and reminds us that we are co-existing within an ecosystem, in relationship with our environment.
We miss the feeling of belonging to the living world
Perhaps what draws us to Jimoti is not only the fun way to navigate urban life as a uniquely shaped raccoon, but also the recognition that in the digital age we ourselves are disconnected from the natural world. Watching his videos reminds us of a long-lost part of ourselves: a child in a simpler world who enjoyed exploring nature with wonder and curiosity. Environmental psychology uses the term ecological person depicting part of our personal identities formed through relationships with landscapes, plants, and animals that offer a psychological sense of belonging to a larger community of life that shapes our value system (Clayton). Recognizing that our identity extends beyond the confines of our skin and psyche to include the natural world around us helps us feel a sense of belonging. Our conscious understanding of our neighborhood extends from homes to ecosystems. Families of birds live in trees, their lives develop parallel to ours. We exist as members of the great web of life.
We use a common miracle
In a hyper-connected world, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the constant stream of political conflict. climate concernand stories lonelinessleaving little room for feelings of joy and wonder. Nevertheless, millions of people stopped to marvel at that unusual creature. Collective effervescence a term used to describe joy, wonder, or shared experiences surprise can strengthen social ties. Jimoti brought people together to smile at the same creature.
What does your face really represent?
Jimoti is loved not only for who he is, but also for what he represents to us. It reminds us that as humans we are not the center of the universe. Jimoti frees us from our own worries and stresses to remember that we are part of a larger ecosystem around us and that we are made for relationships beyond relationships with other people. Sometimes we need a uniquely shaped raccoon to help us remember that we belong in nature.
