Social media unites behind little raccoon

Animal on the side of high rise quickly gathers national following

If you want to unite the masses online, find an animal in need.

This week, the Internet was captivated by a raccoon that climbed to the upper levels of a high-rise in Minnesota before seemingly getting stuck.

Looking at photos of the animal scaling the building, using its claws to work its way up, it seems as though it had the power to continue on its journey whenever it wanted. It was like watching Spider-Man take to the building.

But two days passed, the raccoon was still hanging out on a window ledge, and people were understandably worried. One TV station even set up a live feed of the little guy.

Twitter users were immediately engaged, with the hashtag #mprraccoon trending throughout the day Tuesday.

A sampling of tweets included the following:

• Okay, I’ve heard of ninja squirrels, but this is insane! #mprraccoon

• I could be working, but instead I am watching a livestream of the #mprraccoon. (In my defense I put raccoon books on our “In the News” display earlier.)

• It’s kinda heartwarming to see Twitter rally around #mprraccoon and it makes you realize how badly this country NEEDS good news.

Minnesota Public Radio had a great view of the proceedings, as its building faced the raccoon’s highrise. Reporter Tim Nelson was on #mprraccoon beat, and kept followers updated through the night with tweets on the raccoon’s progress. It turns out, the story had a happy ending. The raccoon made it to the top of the 25-story tower around 2:30 in the morning, where live animal traps baited with soft cat food awaited.

Nelson told NPR that the animal likely had been looking for food in a lower skyway.

Now the raccoon is in the hands of Wildlife Management Services, who plan to release it “somewhere safe,” Nelson notes, in an undisclosed location.

Sometimes, a little breather is needed from the more serious news stories. This week, America found it in a little climbing raccoon!