Ever been outsmarted by a wild animal? Well, a group of cops in Colorado were given a run for their money after an unruly raccoon was found hiding in the wall panels and gave chase for 45 minutes before admitting defeat.
The creature had gotten trapped in the wall of a store and, while attempting to be removed from the cavity, it decided to drop and run.
The raccoon had supposedly come into the store via a delivery truck that had travelled from Louisville and was seen breaking into the Boulder distribution centre by workers who were unloading pallets brought in by the vehicle. The raccoon crawled out from between the pallets and broke into McGuckins Hardware Store looking for a quiet space to hide.
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You can watch the hilarious footage here:
After conducting a manhunt (or should we say 'raccoon hunt'?), a group of workers finally found the hairy critter stuck upside down between pieces of lumber against a wall.
A brave worker tried to slide the panel to one side so that authorities could grab the raccoon with a grasper - a long pole-type tool commonly used to catch stray or vicious animals - but the critter was too clever and made a leap for it.
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The animal managed to run past Boulder Police Animal Protection Supervisor, J. Whittle and led the team on a wild goose chase.
A voice can be heard saying: "Don't touch it, it'll bite."
Bodycam footage shows the officers running after the escaped raccoon, darting in and out of aisles before a worker was able to set up a portable kennel on the floor, trapping the creature with the help of a bin.
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In the footage, Whittle and the team can be seen celebrating with their arms in the air and a sigh of relief, before Whittle says 'we finally found the raccoon we were looking for'.
Whittle traced the raccoon back to the Louisville address where the truck had collected the pallets and it was swiftly shipped back to its home where he came from.
"He had plenty of hiding spots and trees and dumpsters," said Whittle, adding: "I hope he found his family and friends back in Louisville."
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Harley Young