The Minnesota raccoon! A good ending!!

Brigid told me about this - she was thrilled with the story.

Here's how the Wall Street Journal reported it -

Minnesota’s Raccoon

A daring climb, an exhilarating rescue.

Much of the planet decided that the best story on the web this week was an epic climb in the downtown area of an American city. The story of one lonely critter’s effort to reach the very heights of international finance captivated the world of social media. It was also a welcome reminder of how much entertainment value the state of Minnesota has bequeathed to the U.S. and to the world.

The drama concluded today. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

Thousands of concerned citizens around the world who watched, waited and hoped for the best for the plucky raccoon that scaled a St. Paul skyscraper Tuesday, woke up Wednesday to news of a happy ending.

He made it.

The scrappy critter completed his climb in the cover of darkness and reached the roof of the UBS Plaza about 2:30 a.m., said Laurie Brickley, a spokeswoman for the city’s Department of Safety and Inspections, which includes Animal Control...

The animal had stopped Tuesday afternoon for a nap just two stories below the UBS Plaza roof, where animal control officials set up traps with food in hopes of luring him in.

Humans were able to trap and then carry the one-year-old female to safety from the roof of the 25-story office building. The Associated Press reports that the animal has now been released back into the wild. A.P. adds:

The raccoon looked a bit bedraggled but healthy after it was caught before dawn atop the UBS Plaza. Technicians took the caged raccoon down a freight elevator to a truck, according to Wildlife Management Servi ces, which provides animal control services for St. Paul.

“It’s definitely a healthy raccoon. It’s in good condition. It’s eating normally,” said Christina Valdivia, the company’s general manager, who accompanied the technicians to the rooftop.

The animal was later released on private property near the Twin Cities suburb of Shakopee.

Perhaps not surprisingly, public broadcasters were all over this story. Minnesota Public Radio, which bro ke the news of the raccoon’s daring ascent and which likely employs a healthy proportion of vegetarians, happily claimed the furry striver as one of its own. On Twitter, the public broadcaster branded the skyscraper-scaling social-media climber as the #mprraccoon.

Minnesota Public Radio reported this afternoon:, “It’s OK, everyone — we can all let out that collective breath we’ve been holding since Tuesday.” Phew!

Comments

[Sweat]

That climb was a nerve-'raccing' ordeal ! ! !

[Regina Montana]

Unbelievable! Thank God for a happy ending for this brave creature.

[maria]

Yes!