According to Li Zirong, deputy director of the Shanghai Forestry Station, such results reflected the period between 2020 and 2022, when high population densities led to increased social attention and conflict.

Experts believe that 2023 marked a turning point, with public tolerance beginning to rise due to improved ecological management and extensive public education and awareness campaigns.

Wang said that in previous years, the team had held at least 20 on-site meetings in neighborhoods with a high prevalence of raccoon dogs, involving residents and street managers. As a result, they gradually developed a feasible response plan for communities.

Efforts include distributing brochures in communities, explaining to residents which departments to contact when encountering a large number of wild animals, and what measures to take when encountering wild animals with skin diseases, said Wang.

Experts highlighted that improper kitchen waste management and cat food feeding have been identified as major factors increasing raccoon dog visibility.

The latest survey showed that in residential compounds where cat food is fed to stray cats, the number of raccoon dogs observed was 2.75 times higher than in those where stray cat feeding does not occur. In residential compounds where both issues were poorly managed, the number of raccoon dogs was 3.32 times higher than in those where both issues were well managed.

Data from all four residential compounds continuously surveyed over four years clearly reflected the importance of managing such human behaviors. In an apartment complex in Songjiang district, the raccoon dog density decreased from 5.8 raccoon dogs per hectare in 2022 to 2.22 per hectare last year.

Li Min, a resident at this apartment complex in the district's Sijing town, said she used to complain a lot about raccoon dogs rummaging through the trash around her home, but later she learned that it was because residents were feeding them cat food and were not disposing of garbage properly.

"As long as we don't feed them and keep our distance, they won't cause trouble. We can coexist peacefully," said Li.