I know the title is poorly worded but I can’t really think of how exactly to word the question.
I was watching a cat try to find a place to sit that wasn’t covered in snow and it made me think about how humans wipe off snow covered seats or just dirty seats in general.
Is that a uniquely human thing or are there other animals that exhibit similar behaviors?
Literal translation of the Norwegian word for raccoon is Wasing-Bear
The German word for raccoon is Waschbär
Same in Japanese. araiguma translates as washing bear.
On the contrary, in French it is raton-laveur, which translates to washing baby rat.
French is clearly more correct than German here. They are rats not bears
Since they belong to the super family musteloidea, Wash Weasel seems more accurate. Definitely still closer to bears than rodents though.
Tvättbjörn