"Experts Suggest Jimothy the Viral Raccoon Might Not Be Alone as Reports of More Short-Spined Critters Surface!"

JIMOTHY the viral raccoon may not be alone after a string of reported sightings.

The unusually-shaped animal due its particularly short spine.

Jimothy the racoon has captured the imagination of Seattle residents Credit: Courtesy of Kiana Hall Residents now claim there might be more than one raccoon Credit: Instagram

Experts have now claimed there may be more than one deformed raccoon roaming the streets of Seattle.

As the mutant’s popularity grows, many have questioned whether it’s the same Jimothy, or if there are multiple animals suffering from the condition.

Local resident Rebecca Sorenson told Fox 13 Seattle : “There’s posts now that say he was born a year ago and then other people with posts that saw him in 2017.

“I’m curious now if there are more than one?”

Experts have said it is unlikely that a similar raccoon seen ten years ago was Jimothy Credit: Instagram Jimothy has been seen scuttling through the backyards of Seattle Credit: Reddit

Jimothy reportedly suffers from short spine syndrome – a rare congenital condition that affects “almost zero” per cent of animals.

Animal keeper Wendi Mallo said she’d be surprised if it was the same animal that some claimed to have spotted nearly 10 years ago.

“Yeah that seems like a very long-lived raccoon to me for the wild,” she said.

Mallo added that raccoons managed in proper conditions typically live much longer than those in the wild.

“In the wild, 3 to 5 years would be doing really well,” she said.

“A lot of raccoons don’t even make it through their first year.”

Consequently, Mallo said it’s hard to know whether Jimothy is that old or if there is more than one patient out there.

Despite the apparent deformities, Mallo said Jimothy appeared to be in good condition.

“I’m amazed at how well he’s done and I’m amazed at the magic that’s in our own backyards,” the animal keeper said.

“I think that it’s a nice little wakeup call for us to kind of notice what’s back there and pay attention.”

Kiana Hall, 33, was enjoying a late-night walk with her partner when she first caught a glimpse of the animal.

“I got very confused at what I was seeing. I just have never seen any other animal like it,” she said.

Hall was able to deduce the grey-furred creature was a raccoon from its facial marking, but suspected it suffered from some sort of genetic defect.

She continued: “I just hope Jimothy continues to live his life freely and I hope he can be healthy.”

The extraordinary creature has now become a regular feature of Seattle subreddits, including popular forum Weird and Creepy.

One user wrote: “He needs to be protected at all costs.”