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And some that didn't do so much running, but still caused some alarmWales may be known as the land of the dragon, but it’s also been home to a number of different creatures that have been spotted roaming the countryside over the years. From mystical big cats to captured raccoon dogs, there’s always a chance that you might spot something unusual while out for a Welsh walk. While some sightings merely add to the intrigue around exactly what is living in the wild in Wales, others have come at a cost to farmers who have found some of their livestock...

The call for help came in shortly after 10 a.m. on Thursday, prompting a team of firefighters to suit up and rush to a residential area in Newton, Mass. "We sent our rescue company," Capt. Eric Fricke of the Newton Fire Department told The Washington Post. "They have the tools and expertise for freeing people from things." ……………………. "The raccoon ended up needing to be sedated so that it could relax enough," he said. "It was fighting the whole process." When the raccoon stopped struggling, rescuers were finally able to free it. Fricke said Waltham Animal Control is keeping the...

Full title.......................'His house, his rules': Hilarious moment feline leaps out of his cat flap and pounces on an inquisitive raccoon to defend his porch............. This is the hilarious moment a raccoon tries to get through a cat flap but is pounced on and chased away by an angry cat. Footage captured on a home security camera shows the daring raccoon try to get into the house after looking curiously through the cat door in the Pacific North West, US. The raccoon can be seen walking tentatively up the stairs onto a garden porch before curiously looking at the cat flap....

Police in West Virginia have apprehended masked bandits who were drunkenly acting up in town -- but they weren't humans. Neighbors had reported two raccoons that they thought were rabid to police, but it turned out they were just drunk on fermented crabapples, the Milton Police Department wrote on its Facebook page.

A man on vacation in Ocean City, New Jersey captured incredible video of a raccoon scaling the side of a building and climbing several stories. Micha Rea, a South Carolina resident, was walking the boardwalk with friends when he says they spotted the raccoon roughly nine stories up on the side of a building. Rea broke out his camera and started recording. He films the raccoon holding onto the wall of an apartment complex, before showing the group of people who had gathered, including animal control. By the time the camera turns back to the raccoon, the critter has decided...

A Maine woman remembered thinking about how beautiful the day was as she jogged through the woods, never imagining she would have to fend off a rabid raccoon with her bare hands, according to the Bangor Daily News. Rachel Borch was running recently along a familiar trail near her home in Hope, a small town south of Bangor, when she saw the animal in the middle of the path, baring its teeth, she told the paper Wednesday. When the raccoon ran straight for her, Borch said she knew it was rabid. With overgrown bushes on either side of the trail,...

WASHINGTON (ABC7) — A U.S. Park Police officer shot himself in the foot Thursday after being attacked by a raccoon in Northwest D.C., according to officials. Police say the officer was trying to get the raccoon off him when he shot himself. The officer was taken to the hospital and police say the injuries are not life-threatening. ABC7's Q McCray reports neighbors say they heard nine gunshots and that the officer was flown to the hospital.

Just after 9 a.m. Thursday morning a good citizen of Toronto saw a dead raccoon on the sidewalk. He alerted the city’s contact centre to come get the animal. The city responded 12 minutes later. Animal Services was notified, they said. But around noon the raccoon was still there. And someone put a note next to it. Six hours after being reported to the city, the raccoon was still on the sidewalk. People had started to create something of a memorial to it. City Councillor Norm Kelly, who is surely one of Canada’s greatest Twitter users, saw the raccoon tweet...

Man faces misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty after his dog kills young raccoon that caused some damage to garage Seth Foster, 23, said he found his family garage in disarray last summer and sent his dog in the building to investigate. Grizz, a blue heeler, returned with the culprit, a young raccoon. As two teenage boys watched, one of them filming its actions with a cell phone, Grizz killed the coon, Foster said. Now, Foster is facing a misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty resulting in death, which is punishable by a maximum of 90 days in jail and a $500...

A man is recovering after he said he was attacked by a raccoon in his own garage. Mike Kidwell says he was working on his boat when the raccoon came into the garage and "went nuts." "It tried to extend its front paws," Kidwell said. He jumped up on his washing machine in an attempt to get away, he added. The raccoon was still able to scratch Kidwell and he called 911. While answering questions, Kidwell appeared to have blood on the sleeves of his white tee-shirt.

PASADENA - A woman shot and killed a raccoon that was fighting with her pit bull terrier, police said. Pasadena police Lt. Randell Taylor said neighbors called authorities to report a shot fired in the 600 block of Las Robles Avenue at about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. When police arrived, they learned a large raccoon had attacked a resident's dog. "She got a shovel and hit the raccoon about 15 times," Taylor said. "She shot it in the mid-section and it was still getting the best of the dog." Taylor said the woman retrieved the shovel and again hit the raccoon...

Nazi raccoons conquer Europe Raccoons released by Hermann Goering in Germany in 1934 to "enrich the Reich's fauna" are threatening to succeed where their Nazi benefactors failed by conquering Europe. They have become so successful that German authorities revealed this week that raccoon numbers are now at record levels - with more than a million in Germany alone. In neighbouring Austria the first raccoons have also been spotted and info leaflets have been dispatched warning people against feeding or encouraging the North American natives. Plans are being discussed to employ "raccoon hunters" to try and reduce the scale of the...

<p>Coors Light and curiosity were almost a dangerous combination for a Bonita Springs raccoon.</p> <p>The fluffy black and white masked creature spent more than a week climbing trees and hobbling around the shores of the eastern Imperial River with a rusty, dented Coors Light beer can stuck on her paw.</p>