Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/raccoons-sneak-in-through-the-air-ducts-to-break-into-a-bank/
Who has seen the movie, Penguins of Madagascar? Probably a good few of us. Well, the following story definitely gives me some strong Penguins of Madagascar vibes since it involves some animal bandits and a bank heist.
On the 21st of October, a bank in California experienced their first-ever “robbery” by a duo of sneaky raccoons who were making their way through the building’s air ducts.
The masked bandits ended up getting into a bit of a pickle when they fell through the ceiling tiles and onto the ground below where they became trapped inside the bank branch.
The raccoons were then noticed by a customer who was withdrawing money from the bank’s ATM in Redwood City. Eyewitnesses to the scene unfolding inside the bank then reached out to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) for help rescuing the two raccoons.
Photos from the scene revealed quite the spectacle. The raccoons were definitely being naughty as pictures showed them wandering up and down the halls of the bank, as well as making themselves quite at home amongst the desks.
An employee for the SPCA said to NBC Bay Area News that it was definitely a first for the organization in terms of rescue calls. Buffy Martin Tarbox, who works for the SPCA, said that the managers for the bank granted their rescue team access to the bank in order to get the raccoons – which proved to be much more difficult than first anticipated. Tarbox shared that it took them about 10 minutes of chasing the critters around the bank to finally get them safely outside.
Tarbox said, “They apparently didn’t want to leave the bank.”
Doing a little more detective work, according to CBS58, Tarbox shared that the bank was covered in muddy footprints from the raccoons, which led the SPCA to believe that they probably climbed a tree where they were then able to get up to the bank’s roof. From there they would have had access to the air ducts.
The little raccoons did a fair bit of damage after coming through the ceiling. According to CBS58, Tarbox shared in a statement that they broke several ceiling tiles as well as knocked over loads of papers and even someone’s computer. The good news is that the raccoons were not injured after their ordeal in the bank.
Tarbox also joked that “to our knowledge they didn’t abscond with any money.”
After the hilariousness of the entire event, you’d almost wished that the raccoons had made off with some loot. Can’t wait for someone to write the screenplay for this one.
Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog
