Just recently, a raccoon has made it to the headlines of news and social media because of its death-defying stunt, climbing up a 25-storey tower in St. Paul Minnesota.
The little critter’s misadventure started last Monday, June 11, 2018, when it was stranded over the ledge of Town Square building.
Initial Help and Rescue Attempts
The maintenance workers of the building wanted to lure the raccoon to down by creating a 20-foot system of ropes and lumbers. However, instead of climbing down, it fled and started to make its way up to the concrete facade of the tower.
Passers-by started to gather around the streets to watch the heart-thumping action while rescuers from St. Paul’s animal control and the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota made their way to the location.
While watching the little creature’s climb, a woman expressed her thoughts towards the incident. She said she’d be feel devastated if the raccoon fell. Another onlooker stated that if the raccoon is rescued, it would be a very good news story for the world.
How the Raccoon Made It Up the Building
Suzanne MacDonald, a raccoon behaviour expert, admitted she was very worried about the animal. She explained that raccoons don’t really think ahead. Hence, they don’t have a good instinct control. She added that the creature may not have realized what was in for it when it began to climb up.
Initial reports say that the raccoon went up to a lower part of the building in search for bird eggs. However, the workers who tried to help the creature down seemed to have scared it. That is the reason why it did what a raccoon is expected to do when in a stressful situation: it climbed.
An Instant Online Celebrity
The raccoon became an instant Internet sensation as videos and photos of it climbing up the tower made rounds on various social media channels. While some were cheering on the little creature on its every attempt to summit, others were hoping it was rescued as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, the workers inside the building can’t do anything about the situation. Since no windows and balconies can be opened, they just had to watch anxiously as the raccoon climbed and shared photos on social media to provide updates about the condition and the whereabouts of the creature.
Because of the incident, the hashtag #mprraccoon began to trend, attracting celebrities and famous personalities.
One is James Gunn, the director of the blockbuster film, Guardians of the Galaxy, which starred a smart raccoon. He said he will be donating $1,000 to the chosen charity of anyone who saves the raccoon.
Healthy and Safe
By Tuesday night, the poor raccoon was still on its way up. At the summit, the rescuers from St. Paul Animal Control already placed cat food and some traps, hoping to entice and guide the animal to safety.
It was already 3:30 AM, Wednesday, when the raccoon made it successfully and safely to the top of the tower. Rescuers immediately trapped the raccoon to safety. As soon as rescuers were convinced it was healthy, it was released back into the wild.
You can watch the full video of the incident here.