SARASOTA, Fla. – It may have taken two tries, but authorities in Sarasota were able to rescue a raccoon that was stranded in the water after climbing on top of a channel marker Wednesday afternoon.
Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium crews were in Sarasota Bay around noon when they spotted the black-and-white bandit while tending to an injured turtle. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Longboat Key Police Marine Patrol and the Sarasota Police Department were alerted, and together, along with Mote Marine staff, they worked to capture the critter.
Video posted by SPD shows officers using a net to scoop up the scavenger and bring it back to the boat.
"Oh my God, he's adorable," one of the officers says in the video.
The rescue would have ended there, except the rascally raccoon wriggled its way out of the webbing and back into the water.
The escape attempt didn't last long. Soon, the raccoon returned to the boat, drenched and defeated, and climbed aboard.
Officers used an animal control pole to secure the animal and put it in a cooler so it could be released back onto dry land.
For information on what you should do if you see a sick, injured or stranded animal, click here.