Meet Jimothy: The Round Little Raccoon the Entire Internet Is Obsessed With

 The internet has a new hero, and he’s a chonky, short-spined raccoon waddling around a Seattle neighborhood like he owns the place. Which, honestly, he kind of does now.

Jimothy — yes, that’s his name, and yes, it’s perfect — is a wild raccoon living in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood who went viral in mid-July 2026 after footage of his unusually spherical, stubby little body began circulating on social media. Within days, the guy had fans across the globe. Not bad for a trash panda.

How Did We All Find Out About This Guy?

It started, as most great things do, with a regular person just trying to live their life.

Kiana Hall was in the Ballard neighborhood around 8:30 one evening when she noticed something a little… off. There was a raccoon, but not a normal raccoon. This one looked like someone had taken a standard raccoon and compressed him, accordion-style, into a much smaller, rounder version of himself. She captured the footage on her cell phone, posted it, and the rest — as they say — is internet history.

Security cameras in the neighborhood had apparently been picking up Jimothy for a while before Hall’s video blew up, but it was that clip that launched him into the stratosphere.

So What’s Actually Going On With Him?

Jimothy isn’t just built different for the aesthetic. Veterinarians believe his distinctive look is the result of short spine syndrome, a rare congenital condition that causes the vertebrae to be compressed or fused together. The result? A compact, almost spherical body shape that makes Jimothy look less like a raccoon and more like a stuffed animal that gained sentience and decided to go foraging for garbage.

Short spine syndrome has been documented in domestic cats and dogs before, but it’s exceptionally rare in wild animals — which makes Jimothy even more of an unlikely celebrity. Born around 2025, he appears to be moving around just fine in spite of his condition, which has only added to the collective internet adoration. He’s out here thriving, and we love to see it.

‘Hot Jimothy Summer’ Is Apparently a Thing Now

Oregon Public Broadcasting and Seattle NPR affiliate KUOW jumped on the story July 19, 2026, with reporter Cornelius Hocker dubbing the phenomenon a “Hot Jimothy Summer” — a phrase that has since taken on a life of its own online. FOX 13 Seattle has also been tracking his movements, noting that Jimothy appears to be sticking close to the Ballard neighborhood, which is very on-brand for a Seattle local who has found something they like and refuses to leave.

The Wikipedia page went up almost immediately, because of course it did. The cute little critter is notable.

Why Do We Care This Much?

Look, the internet is a chaotic and often exhausting place, but every once in a while it collectively decides to love something pure, and right now that something is a round raccoon from the Pacific Northwest. Jimothy isn’t asking for anything. He’s not doing a brand deal. He’s just existing in Ballard, looking like a little sphere with eyes, and somehow that’s exactly what we all needed.

Welcome to your moment, buddy. You earned it.