A determined raccoon stranded high above the ground in Huntington, West Virginia, finally found freedom after several days perched on a narrow windowsill.
Employees at the United Bank inside the Federal Building first noticed the furry visitor stuck on a ledge Friday. Despite the considerable drop below, the little raccoon seemed unsure how to make it back down safely.
West Virginia Natural Resources Police arrived on the scene Tuesday to help. One brave officer carefully climbed onto the ledge to try and capture the stranded critter. But in a twist straight out of a cartoon, the raccoon broke free, tumbling a few stories before skillfully catching itself and scrambling over to a nearby staircase.
The adventure didn’t end there. After fleeing the stairs, the raccoon hid under a wooden pallet, making it too tricky for officers to safely catch him. Wildlife officials set up a humane trap stocked with food and water, hoping to rescue the animal for a check-up with a veterinarian before releasing it into a protected wildlife area.
Meanwhile, across the country in Holyoke, Massachusetts, another raccoon found itself in trouble last week — this time with its head stuck in a storm drain grate. Local police, with the help of a quick-thinking Good Samaritan, used laundry detergent to gently free the stuck raccoon, bringing another wild rescue to a happy ending.