In incredibly important animal news today: this raccoon has made it to the roof of a 25-storey skyscraper in St Paul, Minnesota at about 2.50am local time, after being stuck on the side of the building for about 17 hours.
The #mprraccoon is doing a little grooming now that he’s a social media star. You know, on a 23rd floor window ledge. @MPRnews pic.twitter.com/PfiPqbeGTC
— Tim Nelson (@timnelson_mpr) June 12, 2018
Twitter has been closely following the plight of the li’l’ guy the entire time – posting updates about his direction of travel up and down the UBS building and heaps of shots of him luxuriating on ledges.
He was stranded on the ledge of the Town Square office building for two days without food or water before he began his King Kong-style skyscraper scale, with building management helping him out of his initial predicament.
This poor raccoon apparently got itself stranded on a ledge of the Town Square office building in downtown St. Paul, likely on an errant mission to raid pigeon nests on the skyway over 7th Street. It’s been there for two days now, without food or water. @mprnews pic.twitter.com/fVI5pmdCWq
— Tim Nelson (@timnelson_mpr) June 12, 2018
But then all he did was set his sights on another building, climbing 23 storeys to more than 200 feet above street level, and taking a rest. As night began to fall, the raccoon started to descend the building slowly, before moving literally around it, and then climbing up again.
There’s a lot of directions here, it may seem dry – but what we’re saying, in short, is that a raccoon climbed up and down a skyscraper, one floor at a time, for hours and hours and hours today, and the internet has been watching along at home with bated breath.
Can you see him? He’s waaaaaay up there pic.twitter.com/ZnRZGr2qH4
— Tad Vezner (@SPnoir) June 12, 2018
My picture from the 13th floor around noon. Hope he makes it down OK! #mprraccoon pic.twitter.com/gfVWysn9iO
— Ben (@Johnson88Ben) June 12, 2018
1:45 am update: #MPRraccoon took another peek over the edge from his perch outside a 17th floor window in St. Paul #Minnesota. This may be my last tweet of the night but keep following @timnelson_mpr and @MPRnews for updates. Good luck and safe climbing, little guy pic.twitter.com/GQzgvaAU1H
— Andrew Krueger (@akpix) June 13, 2018
If you’re wondering how he could be up there so long without someone coming to his rescue: the windows to the building don’t open, so he couldn’t be rescued that way, but animal control placed a live trap on the roof with aromatic food, for when our racc bro finally completed his ascent.
A Minnesota Public Radio News reporter, Tim Nelson, who has been following the action from the get-go wrote that he had spoken to wildlife experts, who advised that getting close to the raccoon could “invite attack or prompt it to leap or fall from the ledge“. Fire officials also told him that they “can’t in good conscience risk putting a firefighter over the side of a building for a raccooon“.
Can confirm #MPRraccoon is still itchy. Got a little visit from @StPaulFireDept too! Cat food awaits it on the roof. pic.twitter.com/WeOTWmbaqz
— Evan Frost (@efrostee) June 12, 2018
This better be the MN capitol stock photo from now on. #mprraccoon #TrashPanda pic.twitter.com/2SKoN169OR
— Dr. Sutton is in class (@bravesgyrl) June 12, 2018
He is on the ledge on our floor. He seems to be doing well. We’ve been told that the building has live traps on the roof and are trying to get him to go up there. We all just have to keep our fingers crossed.. #mprraccoon pic.twitter.com/HY1PkuFKz0
— Paige Donnelly law (@donnelly_law) June 12, 2018
The takeaway here is that we have a new internet-famous animal bud: he’s even scored himself his own Twitter, @TheStPaulRacco1, as voiced by musician Matthew VinGe.
https://twitter.com/TheStPaulRacco1/status/1006740164541145088
And that Twitter got very invested and emotional about our new friend and his scary af adventure today:
Mood: I am stressed about a lot of unknowns, and I am crying about a raccoon trapped on the ledge of a building in Minneapolis.
WILL IT BE OKAY?! #mprraccoon
— Layton Williams Berkes (@LaytonEWilliams) June 12, 2018
– Window washing equipment
– St Paul Fire Department
– That guy in Paris that saved the baby on the balcony
– Hot Air BalloonWays to save the #MPRraccoon
— Martha (@MarthaYoung) June 12, 2018
Opens Twitter: why is my entire feed obsessed with a raccoon?
5 minutes later: come on buddy, you can do it!
10 minutes later: will no one save the poor raccoon?!#mprraccoon
— Euqinomist (@Euqinomist) June 13, 2018
#mprraccoon has captured your attention because he is an anthropomorphised symbol of the hope, tenacity, and faith inside each of us. Weve hung that on this little trash panda. And were all praying it turns out well, for our own sakes.
— snoopydancer (@snoopydancer) June 13, 2018
I’m going to need one of you to tell me when it’s safe to look at Twitter again.
And by “safe” I mean “sometime after #mprraccoon is rescued, swaddled with a fluffy towel and given some milk and a cookie.” https://t.co/Yhp7H05YTU
— Jennifer Brooks (@stribrooks) June 12, 2018
https://twitter.com/dylanlscott/status/1006671824237801473
We’re feeling incredibly relieved rn, hbu?
