St. Paul's Skyscraper-Scaling Raccoon Captivates Internet

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- A raccoon scaling the side of a skyscraper Tuesday has people all across the country watching its every move with bated breath.

This all started at about 11 a.m. Tuesday when Minnesota Public Radio reporter Tim Nelson noticed the fuzzy friend trapped on an overhang near the bottom of the UBS Building in downtown St. Paul.

"The maintenance staff came out with some two-by-fours screwed together and pushed them up to the raccoon, thinking that he would run down the boards onto the street and escape," Nelson said.

But when raccoons get scared, their instinct is to go up -- and that is exactly what this one did.

Looking like a smaller, hairier version of Spiderman, the raccoon was able to scale almost the entire building, finally stopping to rest outside the Paige Donnelly Law Firm on the 23rd floor.

"We have seen him pace back and forth and sniff, but he hasn't moved," said attorney Sheila Donnelly-Coyne. "He might just be tuckered out from the climb right now."

There is not a whole lot that St. Paul Animal Control can do because a rescue mission would be too dangerous for both the raccoon and the workers.

"This raccoon has to rescue itself," Nelson said. "That's the only option right now."

There is a live trap on the roof of the building with some very aromatic cat food they hope will lure the raccoon to safety.

At about 10:30 p.m., the raccoon began to descend from the 23rd floor, making it to the 17th floor about 15 minutes later. It began to rest on a ledge again at about 11:10 a.m.