Animal stuck on high-rise ledge becomes social media star
A raccoon stranded on the ledge of a building in St Paul, Minnesota, captivated onlookers and generated interest on social media after it started scaling an office building.
Onlookers and reporters tracked the critter’s progress at it climbed the UBS Tower on Tuesday, interrupting work and causing anxiety for some.
By Tuesday afternoon local time, it had stopped on a ledge more than 20 stories high.
Nearby Minnesota Public Radio branded the raccoon with the hashtag #mprraccoon. The creature also had its own Twitter account, with one tweet saying, “I made a big mistake.”
The account also tweeted: “Oh great … ‘I Believe I Can Fly’ is stuck in my head … Not what I need right now.”
The raccoon was first spotted on a ledge Tuesday morning, just a few stories high. St. Paul Animal Control believed it may have been there all night before it started heading skyward.
Many citizens posted on Twitter they were concerned for the raccoon’s safety and were worried it had not eaten since it started its journey.
People encouraged the raccoon to “hang in there”.
Even Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn got around the cause, offering $1000 to charity in the name of the person who could save the raccoon.
“I can’t handle this. Poor dude,” he wrote on Twitter.
