Toronto’s white knight? Albino raccoon spotted in backyard

Raptors. Maple Leafs. Blue Jays. Argonauts.

The city of Toronto is linked to many mascots. But anyone who lives there will tell you what the city's real mascot is.

The raccoon.

These noctural animals are so common—and comfortable—among people that they are even seen regularly during some daylight hours. To be clear, they are still not animals anyone should approach. And not everyone loves having them around either.

But when the city has to design new compost garbage cans with raccoon-proof lids, you know that there's a peculiar and permanent place for these mammals in Toronto's heart.

That's why so many are thrilled by a rare sighting in someone's backyard this week...

An albino raccoon!

Night stroll

Joshua Patrick was just hanging out on his back deck very early on Wednesday morning (May 20). Then he saw it—a cat-sized, all-white mammal wandering his yard. The elusive albino raccoon.

Knowing this was a one-in-a-million moment (or, according to experts, about one-in-10,000), he got out his camera and shot a video.

I just saw an albino raccoon #Albinoraccoon #Raccoon #Toronto pic.twitter.com/2XVMItDoXv

— joshua patrick (@realjoshuap) May 20, 2020

Then he named it Theodore. Aw!

The scoop on white raccoons

The video went viral quickly. Experts at the Toronto Wildlife Service (TWS) confirmed that it was an albino raccoon—a rare, but not unheard of, creature. The TWS say that they get reports every so often of albino raccoons. But to have caught this critter on camera is very cool. And lucky.

Interestingly, another Toronto resident reported a baby albino raccoon back in 2017.

Toronto, meet your new mascot #albino #raccoon https://t.co/4YzaU44m4D

— Showwei Chu (@ShowweiChu) June 1, 2017

Given that it was in a similar part of the city, the question is clear: Is this the same animal more grown? We'll probably never know, but for now, let's just enjoy the fact that this moment exists. Maybe it's a sign of good luck? That would be great!