Two pairs of North American raccoons were released in Germany's Kassel, today their population is around 30,000 and are known as 'bandits' by public

Raccoons are loved by some, despised by others. Some feed them nearby their homes and others keep weapons ready at their disposal. But in Germany they hold a reputation that exceeds any. Labelled as "bandits," due to the distinctive black strip across their eyes, they regularly make headlines for breaking into hospitals, zoos, power plants and even homes, leaving little trails of destruction behind. Their arrival in the country holds a myth that has gone on for years. The urban legend goes that they were introduced to the country by Nazi commander and war criminal Hermann Göring. Yet archival research and modern ecological studies now tell a different story.How did raccoons arrive in Germany?An application was made to the Prussian hunting office to release two pairs of North American raccoons near the EderseeGermany's raccoons were long rumoured to have a dark past, beginning in the area near the city of Kassel in central Germany. "It was a common narrative among tourist guides, local politicians and larger parts of the population that Hermann Göring himself ordered the release of the raccoons in the wild," said Eberhard Leicht, the former head of the Vöhl Forestry Office in centra...