Raccoon with head stuck in peanut butter jar rescued from top of power pole

A search for a tasty treat ended in an overnight stay on top of a power pole and a three-hour rescue on Wednesday for a raccoon with a peanut butter jar stuck on its head near the foot of the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada. "We have a very happy raccoon," Fort Erie SPCA manager Wendy Trombley said after setting the animal free.



"We think she is a mom, so there are some babies that are very happy as well. She was sitting at the top of pole. She tried to come down, but was scared. She went back up to the very top and just sat. She didn't know what to do with herself." It took about three hours to rescue the raccoon from the pole and release it. One witness said the raccoon had been up the pole most of the night.

"It is kind of comical, but it's hard for the animal to see and it's very hot in that little space in the jar," Trombley said. "I'm not sure how she ended up the pole. Somebody may have tried to help her and scared her, or a dog may have frightened her." The SPCA, fire department and Canadian Niagara Power workers all assisted in the raccoon rescue.



Hydro staff did a quick canvass of the the neighbourhood before shutting off the power to protect animal control officer Mark Dickson and the raccoon during the rescue. "He (Dickson) looped the racoon,” Trembley said. “We got her in the cage, and I was able to get my hand in. I grabbed the jar and I got Mark to pull down on the raccoon's body a bit and the jar slipped off.”

There's a short news video here.