tanuki, raccoon
狸 centers on the tanuki, a specific animal often called a raccoon dog in English. The meaning extends loosely to raccoon due to visual similarity, but the core idea is the tanuki itself.
狸 combines the animal radical 犭 with 里, which likely contributes the sound. The character specifically denotes the tanuki.
The animal radical 犭 beside 里 (village) suggests a wild animal often seen near villages: the tanuki.
For リ, imagine a tanuki re-leasing a fish back into the village stream: re- -> リ, and the tanuki is the animal doing it.
tanuki (Nyctereutes procyonoides); raccoon dog
foxes and tanuki
wolverine (Gulo gulo); glutton; carcajou
supernatural tanuki (Japanese folklore)
old badger; veteran; oldtimer; schemer; old fox
(villains) of the same stripe; birds of a feather; raccoon dogs of the same hole
hyrax
counting one's chickens before they're hatched; counting raccoon dog skins before they have been caught
beaver
two sly characters outfoxing each other; a fox and a raccoon dog fooling each other
kokkuri; divination technique similar to table turning and planchette
kokkuri; divination technique similar to table turning and planchette
tricksters; deceivers; fey creatures; monsters; goblins
patting the raccoon's belly (tesuji); tanuki drums his belly
something spread out widely; something taking a lot of space; eight jō of a raccoon dog's scrotum
tanuki drumming on their stomachs
feigning sleep
tanuki soup; raccoon-dog soup
cunning old man
wooly frogsmouth (Philydrum lanuginosum); wooly waterlily