Raccoon Bandits Break Into A Locked-Up California Bank

The furry burglars weren’t interested in money…

Damjan

• Published in Animals
• July 9, 2021

A man using an ATM outside a bank in Redwood City, California, inadvertently looked inside the bank and noticed a cute stuffed animal on one of the desks. But then it moved.

He thought that’s either some lifelike high-tech toy or that the bank Is being robbed by two raccoons. Both of those possibilities seemed ridiculous, so he continued to observe them and see what will happen next.

When the man realized that the two animals were trapped inside the bank, he contacted Peninsula Humane Society and SPCA. It turned out that two raccoons had broken into the bank and were causing a mess, probably trying to find a box of almond cookies left in the staff break room.

The masked bandits’ MO sounds like it’s taken from some classic heist movie: “There were muddy pawprints on a tree outside the bank, so we suspect the raccoons climbed the tree to the roof of the bank, and then somehow managed to crawl into the air ducts and fell through the ceiling tiles onto the floor of the bank,” Buffy Martin Tarbox, spokesperson for the Peninsula Humane Society and SPCA, stated.

The furry burglars didn’t go easily.

“The bank managers let our rescue staff into the bank,” Tarbox stated. “And after about 10 minutes of chasing the raccoons around the bank, we were finally able to safely shoo them outside. They apparently didn’t want to leave the bank.”

The animals eventually left, but not before leaving their mark.

"There were several broken ceiling tiles, and the masked bandits knocked papers around and even a computer over," Tarbox said. "Thankfully, the raccoons were not injured during their morning escapade, and to our knowledge, they didn't abscond with any money."

Also, an empty box of cookies.

Damjan