A plucky raccoon who spent hours climbing the walls of a skyscraper has become the latest internet obsession.
The creature was spotted last night by Minnesota Public Radio reporter Tim Nelson on a ledge near the foot of the Town Square building in St Paul, Minnesota, where the station is based.
The raccoon had been stranded for two days, he wrote on Twitter, possibly after becoming trapped while hunting pigeons.
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An hour later, Nelson updated his Twitter feed with the news that the animal had managed to reach the neighbouring UBS Plaza, a 25-storey skyscraper.
The mammal’s antics caught the attention of other MPR staff, who began tracking its movements under the hashtag #MPRraccoon.
Thousands of Twitter users quickly took the creature to their hearts, anxiously following a perilous journey which took the raccoon to the 23rd floor, followed by an equally nerve-wracking descent to the 17th floor.
Employees in the neighbouring UBS Plaza shared up-close photos of their surprise visitor as the animal nimbly pulled itself up the side of the tower.
Several pictures showed ‘#MPRraccoon’ taking a break on window-sills, but staff explained that they could not try to rescue the stranded animal because the building’s windows do not open.
Animal control officials placed food in a humane trap on the roof of the skyscraper in an attempt to lure the raccoon to safety.
As the furry freerunner finally neared the top of the building once more, 17 hours after he was first spotted, thousands tuned into a live video stream.
For some the tension was too much to bear:
Fortunately, the story has a happy ending.
After a nerve-shredding final ascent up the sheer wall of the 25th floor, the raccoon was able to scramble onto the safety of the roof - and the internet took a sigh of relief.
