Updated at 3.15pm
A plucky raccoon who scaled a Minnesota high-rise before perching on a ledge 23 storeys up mesmerised workers and became an internet sensation on Tuesday night.
The hungry-looking critter first caught the attention of curious bypassers but soon had the entire world watching as people began using an #MPRraccoon hashtag to document his exploits.
I don't know if I can watch this much longer. The #mprraccoon is scaling the UBS Tower. Now 12 stories up. pic.twitter.com/MaP35MLo9j
— Tim Nelson (@timnelson_mpr) June 12, 2018
Local news and radio stations began providing live updates, and TV station WCCO TV even opened up a livestream, as outlets from CNN to Vice picked up the story.
By Tuesday evening, #MPRraccoon was the no. 1 trending hashtag on Twitter across the USA.
Having made it to the 23rd floor, the raccoon stopped on a ledge just two floors below a spot where animal control officers had set up traps with food to try and lure him to safety.
Raccoons are strong climbers and accustomed to living near human beings, whose food they usually eat to survive. There are an estimated 1 million of them in Minnesota alone – though none before the #MPRraccoon has ever tried to scale a downtown building in broad daylight.
There’s something tragic and inspiring about a poor, starved, and dehydrated raccoon refusing to give up and scaling a high rise building just to survive. Life is precious and worth fighting for. #mprraccoon pic.twitter.com/pEeDnKsaSg
— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) June 12, 2018