How often do you come across an animal stranded on the stone pier of a bridge? Now, imagine stumbling upon one in the middle of your daily commute.
Tom, a Pennsylvania commuter, certainly wasn’t expecting such a scene. He crosses the same bridge every day on his way to work — but one morning, a furry figure stopped him in his tracks.
An Unbelievable Sight
From a distance, Tom noticed something unusual perched on top of the bridge’s pier. As he drew closer, he realized it was a raccoon, sitting completely still, far from safety.
At first, Tom hoped the animal was simply lost and would make its way back to the wild. But the next morning, he saw the raccoon in the exact same spot.
That’s when he called the police and reached out to Raven Ridge Wildlife Center, who immediately sent a rescue team to the scene.
The rescuers carefully climbed onto the platform, working slowly to avoid spooking the raccoon. The plan was to guide him gently into a large net — but the frightened animal refused to budge.
He remained frozen in place… until disaster struck.
As the team maneuvered around him, a tractor-trailer rumbled by overhead. The sudden noise startled the raccoon so badly that he lost his footing and tumbled from the pier into the river below.
It was a moment of shock.
“They worked carefully at over 100 feet above the Susquehanna River. Unfortunately, just as they had the raccoon securely caught in both nets, it became startled by a passing tractor-trailer, slipped out, and fell over 100 feet into the river,” the rescue shared on Facebook.
Thankfully, one rescuer spotted the animal paddling toward the shore. While part of the team stayed up on the bridge to track his location, the others raced down to the riverbank.
The rescue involved wading into icy water, patience, and determination — but eventually, they managed to secure the raccoon and bring him to safety.
At the wildlife center, a veterinary exam confirmed the best possible news: he had no serious injuries.
“Miraculously, the raccoon suffered no broken bones, and after several days of observation for any underlying issues, he was deemed fit for release,” the Center reported.
Freedom At Last
Two weeks later, Raven Ridge Wildlife Center shared a heartwarming update — the raccoon was finally heading back to the wild.
The release video captured him bolting out of his crate and eagerly exploring a nearby stream, as if celebrating his return to freedom.
“The moment we opened the crate, the raccoon wasted no time in embracing his newfound freedom, eagerly exploring a nearby water source with joy and enthusiasm,” the Center concluded.
With luck, the “bridge incident” will be his last big adventure in the human world.